Heta-Tale: The Monster's Heart (RusCan)
by HetaliaUSUKcp-MomoChan
Summary: To prove about a heartless monster in a broken old house, Matthew and his friends travel to the house, only for Matthew to come face to face with the beast and be taken away inside. As the fear of losing his heart to the monster, he actually discovers the monster is just a man, but one who had been cursed. But what really is this curse and what role does Matthew play in it? RusCan
1. Chapter 1

Heta-Tale: The Monster's Heart (RusCan)

Chapter One

The rumors have been around for decades.

The rumors of a monster in a man's body, a man without a heart. He lives far away in an old abandoned house that once housed a family. The curtains were always close, no one ever came in or out. They say he lives in that dark Victorian house surrounded by a high metal fence no one could ever climb. There was no path to the house, the fence surrounded the property of the home. There was just one very odd thing about it, there was no lawn. Instead stones made up for it and surrounded the house, sometimes little pieces of grass would peek through but it was all stone. The front door was nailed closed so it seemed like there was no way in, neither was there a way in through the fence.

It scared the children of this town. The legend stayed around for years and struck curiosity. Every once in a while, a group of kids would go to the house and try to climb the gate or look into the house, only to come home frightened and pale. No one knew what was inside that house, the heartless monster that lived there. No one ever dared to try…

_So then, why is this monster here? No one really knows… But… if you ever get the unfortunate chance of climbing over that fence, they say he grabs you right there and your gone! What does he do? No one really knows. If you're caught, you'll never come out. Some say he eats you by ripping your body apart, others say he tortures you, but the most known rumor is that he takes your heart as his own. He physically rips your beating heart out of your body, listening to your cries and screams of pain, and places it inside his own body to replace the one he had lost. He never finds a new one though. _

"Al! Stop that's scary!" Little Peter cried a bit as he held a pillow over his ears. "Scary…"

"I-I agree." Kiku gulped a bit.

"Kiku, did they ever have scary stories like that in Japan?" Peter asked.

"H-hai, they did, but none of them have ever been true."

"Well this one is true!" Alfred stated. "It's as true as it could possibly be!"

"You just told the story to scare Peter." Matthew sat in the corner of the room reading his book as the other three boys stayed on Alfred's bed in a circle. "That story isn't true, there's no such thing as monsters."

"But he's a person!" Peter held onto his pillow tighter.

"Whether he's a person or a monster, its just a story." Matthew put his book aside.

"Oh yeah! Well the house is real!" Alfred stated.

"Yeah, the house is real and it's abandoned." Matthew looked at him. "But there's nothing inside, its just a story the kids in the neighborhood made up years ago to entertain themselves and scare their little siblings, like you're doing."

"My dad used to go to that house!" Peter said.

"Yeah, Arthur-" Alfred could see Peter's dirty look. "My step-dad went to that house when he was a teenager. He never talks about it but he said it was the scariest moment of his entire life." Alfred crossed his arms. "Why would he say that if he didn't see anything?"

"He's probably just trying to scare you." Matthew stuck to his thoughts. "There's no such thing as monsters." He finished his statement and went back to his book. Alfred pouted and stood up on the bed.

"I'll prove it!" Alfred claimed. "Lets go! Let's go to the house! It's down the street!"

"W-What?" Kiku suddenly felt fear running down his spine.

"If there's nothing there, Mattie is right and there's nothing to be afraid of." Alfred smiled. "Let's prove it." Matthew once again put down his book. "Let's go!"

OOO

The house was indeed real, and spooky at that. The rumors were true, it was an old Victorian house surrounded by the fence, the lawn was actually stoned. The four boys came up to the fence and grabbed onto it, trying to get a look at the house. All four of the boys gulped as they stared at the core of the house. "So who's going to be the one to climb the fence?" Alfred asked, the three others boys gulped and shook their heads. "How about you Peter? You're small."

"N-No way!" Poor Peter was shaking in his boots. "No way in hell!"

"Yeah, your dad would kill me, ha~" He looked toward Kiku and Matthew. "Shall we?" The two nodded and stood up straight and looked at each other. "Not it!"

"Not it!" Kiku was the second to yell and Matthew followed with his voice. Kiku and Alfred looked at him though, Alfred smiling with pleasure, as Matthew frowned. "You're going over." Matthew looked back at the house, there was no monster, so why was he so afraid?

"Fine. I'll prove to you that there's nothing there." Matthew stated. Kiku stood in front of the gate and Alfred carefully climbed on Kiku's back and sat on his shoulders, Kiku always could handle Alfred's weight. Kiku bent down a bit as well as Alfred for Matthew to climb up on. He gulped a bit and began to climb, sitting on Alfred's shoulders as they lifted him up. He reached the top of the sharp edged fence and held onto the bars as they held him up.

"Go ring the door bell." Peter called. Matthew got his grip on the bars and began to pull himself over until Kiku's legs gave out. Just as Matthew began getting over the fence, Kiku fell and dropped Alfred to the ground with him. Matthew stayed dangling on the top of the fence. He tried pulling himself back onto his friend's side but he lost balance and fell onto the stone yard face first.

"Matthew!" Alfred called. The two quickly got up on their feet and put their hands on the fence. "Mattie! Get up!" Matthew laid on the ground not moving, he couldn't. He had hit his head on the stones and passed out, he even bled. Alfred directed Kiku to get him back up on his shoulders to put Peter up and put him over to get Mat, but Peter refused and backed away. They called for the boy to get up but he still didn't move. Alfred tried reaching in his arm through the fence but Matthew was too far away.

Slowly, he came back to consciousness and looked up with blurry sight. He grabbed onto his glasses a few inches away from them and put them on before turning off his side and onto his back. He could barely hear his friends calling for him as he tried to get up but fell back down as dizziness overwhelmed him. He could feel the blood dripping down the side of his face from the wound on his head and tried wiping it away. Suddenly, the voices of his friends had stopping yelling for him. He tried looking up toward them and could barely make out their pale fearsome faces. "M-Mat… D-don't turn around…" Alfred gulped. Fear overwhelmed Matthew as he gulped and slowly turned his hear around.

There it was…

He could only see the monster's glowing violet eyes through all the darkness and blurriness. But he could tell the beast was tall, he was there, and his eyes were looking right at him. Matthew's body began to feel numb and his heart almost stopped from the fear. He shook as the beast's hand began to reach for him. He could only hear Alfred yelling: RUN! Matthew stumbled to get up and tried running away across the stones, but an uneven one tripped him and he fell again. His head pounded and he could barely focus or even breath anymore. Darkness began to overwhelm his vision as he began to fall back onto the ground. He couldn't move anymore, his body felt to weak, the wound to his head overwhelmed his entire body. He was done…

The last things he could hear was Alfred still yelling at him to move and run… but it all became silent within seconds…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Everything seemed quiet, not a single sound except for the slight ringing in his ears, probably from hitting his head so hard. He couldn't really feel his body, though he felt himself shivering from a chill throughout his body. He gulped a bit and slowly began opening his eyes to the unfamiliar room. It was practically empty except for the wooden desk and chair in the corner, a bookcase on the side, and a small closet, but it looked like there used to be other furniture in the room, even seemed like there was painting on the walls.

He felt something soft under him, something warm on top of him. He finally managed to open his eyes to the room, noticing the bed he was laying in with the warmest blanket covering over his body. He laid there for a second motionless, even closing his eyes again. Then he realized exactly what had happened… He quickly jumped up panting, He grabbed onto his chest in panic with the thoughts that just maybe the rumors were true, that his heart was stolen or he was dead. But he was breathing, his heart was still there and pounding in fear, he was still alive. He took a few deep breaths before the wound above his eye began aching again and he had to grab onto his head. He moved his fingers swiftly across the wound only to find it was stitched. He looked around a little more and then found his glasses on the nightstand next to the bed and began reaching for them. But the sound of the door knob turning sent a shiver down his spine and he quickly jumped back. He quickly covered the blanket back over himself and laid down, closing his eyes and trying to calm his breathing to make it look as if he never woke up.

He tried his best to keep himself still and breathing easy as the sound of the door opened and footsteps came across the room. He didn't make a sound or move as a cloth moved over the wound on his head. It was a bit cold and he twitched a bit but didn't "wake up". After the cloth was gone, he felt a hand grab onto his arm and pull his sleeve up; he could feel two fingers checking his pulse. He wanted to open his eyes and see who this monster was, but he couldn't do it. He felt his sleeve being pulled back down, heard the footsteps leaving the room, and then the door closed.

He jumped up in the bed and panted, god it was hard to stay that still. That _monster_ touched him, it _had _him, but something felt strange; the touch was so _gentle. _He grabbed onto his glasses, looked around the room, and got up against the pain coming from his head and quickly tried to unlock the window. It was no use though, the window's locks were in place and the window was even nailed so there was no way out through that way. He looked around in fear, he needed to get out of here! He went to the door and became very quiet as he grabbed onto the knob and turn it as quietly as he possibly could. He slowly opened the door a crack, trying to make sure it didn't creek, and looked out into the hallway. The wooden floor was covered by a long Chinese rug that reached from end to end, there were several other doors, but he saw the stair case and that's what mattered.

His legs shook a bit but he took a deep breath and pushed himself to go out into the hallway as quietly as he could and headed toward the stairs. He tried looking down the twisted stair case but couldn't see anything because of the way the stair case was made. He gulped a bit and began stepping down the stairs, hearing it creek every few seconds made him freeze and sent his heart pounding. He took another deep breath and carefully made it down, then paused once he got to the bottom. He looked out of the stair case for any sign of this unknown monster but didn't see a thing in the living room. It was dark, everything looked old but never used and completely clean. He didn't know who lived here, he didn't want to find out, and he quickly ran across the room as quiet as a ninja and ducked behind the couch once he heard movement.

He looked toward the door that he believed led to the kitchen as he heard foot steps walk around. He gulped down his fear and looked the opposite way, trying to find the door. He jumped and ran back past the stair case and hid again behind another couch on the opposite side. He heard the kitchen door open and heard foot steps come into the room, Matthew covered his mouth so he wouldn't make a noise and listened as the monster walked toward him. Matthew's body tingled with fear as he heard the footsteps suddenly stop so close to him. He closed his eyes and tried not to make a single noise or even breathe.

The foot steps headed up the stairs and left him down there. Matthew took a huge sigh in relief and quickly bolted toward the front of the house, going through a door that led to a study, come back out, and go through the door next to it that led to the main hallway. He could see the front door and smiled, his way out! He ran to the door and grabbed onto the knob only to find it was unable to turn. "W-What?" he gasped. He tried shaking it more and turning it but it would not budge. He looked around at the door to find _this_ door even nailed, dozens of nails sticking out of the outline of the door. He felt his heart sink as his one chance to escape faded away. He panted and tried opening it, even trying to take out the nails only to cut a finger or two, but it seemed useless. He wanted to bang on it, scream, call for any kind of help but who would hear him? Surely Alfred, Kiku, and Peter had ran away in fear, plus he didn't even know how long it had been since he was even in here!

He began to tear and fall against the door, holding onto the knob and breaking down inside. _I'm going to die_, he thought, _this monster will kill me. _The adrenaline that had been rushing through his veins to get out and pushed any pain or fear away was gone. His head ache came back, his body shook in fear, he even began to cry. One thing he didn't expect was the feeling that he couldn't breathe. He let go of the knob and sat against the door, sucking up his tears once he realized he was gasping for air. Once he stopped crying though, the feeling didn't go away. He actually couldn't breathe, it wasn't just a feeling, he couldn't breathe!

He grabbed his throat and gasped for air, he couldn't bear the suffocation for too long. Within seconds, no air was getting in or out. He slide down onto the ground and his hands fell away from his throat, hitting the ground with him. Everything began to look blurry and dark, he couldn't see anything anymore. Except for the monster coming toward him. He tried looking up at the monster's face but everything was too blurry; all he could see was the figure of a big tall man coming toward him. Everything went black….

He believed he was dead. He couldn't feel anything, he couldn't feel himself breathing or feel his hands or feet, he felt completely numb. But he opened his eyes and didn't see any heaven or hell, but the same room he had woke up in the first time. He gulped a bit as his vision came back to him, he was alive? He was alive! He didn't feel so relieved though, he was still in that monster's house… and this "monster" stood right next to him.

He jumped up once he saw the figure near him, though without his glasses everything was still very blurry. He panted and felt his body shake in fear again, now he would die right? This monster was probably mad at him… right? He could see the figure lifting his arm up toward the boy and he quickly closed his eyes for whatever was to be done to him.

But there was no violet attack to the boy, nothing at all. He opened one eye to look and then the other only to find the figure holding out the boy's glasses toward him. He gulped a bit and lifted his shaky hands up to grab them and began to put them on as the man turned his back and went toward the door. His vision came back to normal once his glasses were on and he looked up toward the man, only to have him opening the door and walking out. Matthew gulped and looked in silence, then froze once he heard the man speak. "Come." He said from the hallway.

Matthew quickly got out of the bed, he figured if he listened maybe he could live a bit longer and find a way out. He followed out of the room and into the hallway, seeing the man going down the twisted staircase and followed behind. He gulped again, his hands shook as he followed the man through the living room and into the kitchen. It looked old too, but still clean and well organized. It had a small table in the corner with three chairs around it, the counters in the middle of the room separated the table from the rest of the cabinets and counters where food was held. "Sit." The man said, his voice sounded a bit dull but covered by some kind of heavy accent.

Matthew didn't hesitate to quickly sit at the table as the man went into the kitchen area and took a pot off the stove. He tried to get a good look at the man but he couldn't see his face. He wore a long brown coat with the lightest covered scarf wrapped around his neck that reached down his back. His hair was a dusty blonde, or even ash, a unique and strange color. He waited nervously as the man poured hot water into a cup with some mix in it, watching the color change to a darkish green. Was it poison? Was he going to have to drink it? Was it going to kill him?… the questioned rushed through his mind. But this man had taken care of him, he had realized the head wound had been stitched somehow, the man must of helped him when he couldn't breathe, he laid him down in that soft bed twice; he was _taking care _of him? But why? Why would he take such good care of him if he was going to kill him? Why didn't he just let him die in the hallway?

_His heart… _

A shiver was sent down his spine as he remembered Alfred's words: _but the most known rumor is that he takes your heart as his own. He physically rips your beating heart out of your body, listening to your cries and screams of pain, and places it inside his own body to replace the one he had lost. He never finds a new one though. _

Matthew gulped as his heart hammered in his chest, was that what he was after? He wanted to do the dirty work himself, not just let him die? He wanted to hear Matthew's screams and cries while he was still alive and in pain, not wait until he was dead. He froze in fear once again and grabbed onto his chest, still feeling his heart hammering fast. _He's going to kill me, _he thought, _he's going to rip my heart out. _He closed his eyes like it was the end but opened them again to look at the man. The man peeked over at him then turned around, he didn't look like any _monster_…. He really was a man.

His face was a bit pale but he was human. His eyes were a darker violet than Matthew's, his nose was a little big, his face was a bit rounded, his lips looked a bit dry, his bangs fell and covered his forehead but they looked as if he pushed them aside a lot. He was a _human? _He a was a tall, big man with muscle under that coat, his scarf covered his neck and even part of his chin. He even looked a bit… shy?

The man walked over and placed the cup in front of Matthew on the table. "Drink it." He said. His accent was heavy and it was a bit hard to understand his words, but Matthew seemed to understand them well enough. "W-What is it?…" He questioned, he didn't feel so afraid after seeing this man's face but fear still ran through his entire body.

"Medicine." The man turned back and went into the kitchen area again. "M-Medicine?"

"Da."

_Da_? Isn't that Russian? Matthew looked toward him as he thought, the accent, it was Russian, so this man?… "W-Why? Why would I need m-medicine?"

"Your body is sick." The man said. "So drink it."

"W-What?"

"Drink it." The man's tone seemed to go up and a small shiver went down Matthew's spine again. He hesitated at first as he looked at the drink, but he took a sip and swallowed it down, even though it tasted pretty disgusting. He looked back over at the man. "All of it." The man turned back and watched him hold the cup. Matthew gulped and looked back at the drink. He took a breath and gulped down the liquid, then placed the cup back on the table. The man looked at him, lifted his head a bit, and turned around to the countertops.

Matthew decided to be brave and question the man. "H-How long have I… been asleep?"

"Since you've been in my house?" The man questioned. "Two days. Today would have been the third." _Two days? _Matthew gulped a bit, his friends probably thought he was dead by now. Two damn days? "Are you hungry?" That question came out of no where. "W-What?"

"Are you hungry?" The man repeated. "You have been asleep for two days. Are you hungry?"

"N-No sir." Matthew lied, but his stomach let out a small growl that the man seemed to hear. He thought the man would hit him or do _something_ to him because he had lied, but nothing happened again.

"I only soup." the man looked toward him. "Is that alright?"

"Y-yes sir." He gulped.

"Stop calling me 'sir'." The man placed a pot on the stove and poured some soup into it, turning the stove on and letting it cook.

Matthew froze again but pushed himself. "T-Then what should I call you?…"

"My name is Ivan." The man turned back toward him. "You can call me that."

"O-Okay… I-Ivan…"

"When people introduce themselves, they say each others names, correct?" He looked at Matthew who only nodded back. "I said mine." Matthew looked at him in a bit of confusion. "Your name. What is it?"

"M-Matthew." he said.

"Matthew… Matvey." Ivan thought a bit. "Gift of God."

"W-What?"

"Your name. It means 'Gift of God'." Ivan looked toward him. "Matvey is how you say your name is Russian." more proof, so he was Russian? He was just a person?

Matthew tried smiling a bit. "You know about names huh?"

"Da."

"W-What does your name mean?"

"God is gracious." Ivan said. He turned back to the cooking meal as Matthew sat there. "Vanya is another version of Ivan."

"I didn't know that." Matthew said. The conversation between them was simple but a bit awkward, Matthew didn't mind too much though. He believed if he kept it up the man wouldn't hurt him. He looked as Ivan took out a bowl and poured the soup into it, then reached into a cabinet and grabbed a spoon, placed it in the bowl, and brought it over to the young nervous boy. Matthew looked up at the tall man.

"Eat it." Ivan walked around back behind the counters as Matthew watched him, then turned to the small meal in front of him. He looked at it for a moment, hesitated, but his starving stomach pushed him to pick up the spoon and get some of the soup in his stomach. He blew on each spoon full at first but it tasted good and he quickly began rushing his eating. Ivan watched the boy as he ate and filled his starving stomach, not looking away or moving, just watching. Matthew quickly finished eating and sat back in the chair, never even noticing Ivan was looking at him.

He looked up toward Ivan once he was done and the man came back around to get the bowl and the cup and place them in the sink. It seemed so quiet in this house, Matthew could hear the pattering of rain around the house and on the roof, but other than that it was silent. "Follow me." Ivan began walking out of the room and into the living room, Matthew got himself up and quickly followed. He followed Ivan up the stairs again and down the hallway to the door at the end. He opened it and held it for the boy to go in, which he did, then left and let the door close behind him. Matthew jumped at the sound of the door shutting then looked for some kind of light switch. Once he found it, he switched it on to lighten the pitch dark room to uncover the small room was a bathroom. He looked around, seeing a marble bathtub, toilet, sink, everything looked expensive and clean.

The door opened up again and Ivan stood there with a pile of two towels and clean clothes. He came in and placed them on the countertop of the sink and looked toward the boy. "Wash up. You can take your time." Ivan said. Matthew nodded as the man walked out and left him alone in the bathroom. Matthew stood there a bit nervous to take off his clothes. He looked into the mirror above the sink and looked at his reflection. He looked like a mess, his hair was a dirty blonde now, dry blood still stayed on the side of his face from the wound, but his wound looked well taken care of at least. There were circles under his eyes and his skin was already pale, he looked like he had died and come back to life. Then again, maybe he had?

He took a deep breath and took his sweatshirt off, then the shirt underneath. He dropped his pants and underwear down and stepped out of them. He took his socks off and looked toward the bathtub. He felt weird being bear in this stranger's house, especially in this situation, but he turned the knob and let the water flow out, letting it gain heat and height in the tub. He watched the water fill up as he stood bear, then picked up his clothes and folded them together; he could see dry blood stains on the cloth of his sweatshirt. He kept his clothes together then unfolded a towel from the two and kept it next to the bath. Once it was high enough, he stopped the water. He took his glasses off and placed them on the pile of fresh clothes, then dipped his foot into the water, feeling the warm water, then the rest of his body. He stood there for a moment but sat down and slid into the water, the heated water surrounding his body. He took few breathes as the hot water soaked his painful body, washing away any pain he had gained from his fall or even any nerves that wouldn't calm down.

He felt calm and peaceful in the bath, the hot water calmed every nerve he had. He sunk down a little more until just his head was above water, he wanted to just relax for a minute without fear. His thoughts were calming down, though the wonder of if he would still be alive in a few days stayed in his mind and haunted him. He tried pushing it away, just for a moment he wanted to push the fear away, but it wouldn't. He took a deep breath and sunk his head under the water, closing his eyes and letting the hot water go over his head. He stayed there for a moment as all fear left him, but he needed air and the moment he came back up they came back. He grabbed onto the cloth Ivan had left for him and began washing his body. He splashed water onto his face and rubbed the cloth against it, then moved down his neck and to his chest. He washed his whole body then splashed himself again with the cooler water.

He grabbed onto the towel as he stood up and dried his body off, then grabbed onto the other dry one and dried his hair as the other one was soaked now. He let the water out and laid the dry towel onto the floor so he wouldn't slip as he got out. He dried himself off more and looked toward the clothes, then unfolded them.

He peeked into the living room as he came down the stairs, seeing Ivan sitting there waiting for the boy. Matthew came down and stood there for Ivan to see. He wore the clothes Ivan had placed down for him, a light buttoned shirt and pants that matched, both a light red-pink color, and very silky and soft. Ivan looked at him and stood up off the couch. "Does your head hurt at all?"

"N-No." Matthew gulped, he tried not thinking about the wound but it did still hurt him.

"Can you breathe alright?"

"Y-yeah." Matthew said. "I-Is that why you're giving me the medicine?" Ivan nodded. "But… Why?… I've never had trouble breathing before."

"I'll explain soon." Ivan simply said. "You should go lay down though." He walked over and stood in front of the boy. "You look very tired." Matthew looked up at him, not feeling so much of fear anymore, and nodded. He turned to go back up the stairs as the man turned to go into the study room. Matthew paused a bit and looked as Ivan closed the door behind him. Matthew stayed there for a moment but then hurried up the stairs.

_What was this man?… who was he?…. _Matthew couldn't understand something he didn't know, but he wanted too….


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_You will regret this! I'll steal everything that matters to you! You will be dead inside and out! You'll never touch another human being! You'll never feel emotion! You'll be alone forever! Forever Ivan! You won't even get the chance to die! You'll never be loved like I had! Roma! Do it now! _

Ivan jumped awake with the angry voice still echoing in his head. He rubbed his temples then moved his fingers through his short hair, he hadn't had a nightmare like that in a while. He sat back in his chair away from the desk and kept the palms of his hands to his face to cover his eyes. He took a deep breath and sighed, the familiar voice still echoed around the silent study. He remembered that scene like it was yesterday, in his room even. He remembered sitting here writing in his journal like he did each day since his parents died years and years before. He remembered it being as silent as it was now, not even hearing the snow fall outside as it turned to rain, then it was broken by her running in with her eyes full of tears after their argument the night before. He could remember a young man behind her with the strangest blonde hair and the weirdest colored eyes, all hidden under a black cloak; he thought he even saw a fang in the boy's mouth but he seemed stupid to think so. He remembered all of it though. When it was so long ago, he still remembered it clear as day. He would never forget the day that his life forever changed…

Matthew sneaked up the stairs then looked to the first door closet to the stairs. _I'm going to die_, he thought, _so what's the point of being afraid and not even knowing anything about this… monster_? Matthew took a deep breath and went through the door. He turned the knob as quickly and quietly as he could and entered the room, closing the door slowly to be quiet. Ivan was down stairs, he had thought Matthew went to bed, so he had a little time for this. He snuck around the room a bit and tried to find any source of light. He actually ran into an heavy object, stubbing his foot on it. He tried not to make a move or a sound after that one, he only hoped Ivan didn't hear it. He stood quietly and still for a moment to make sure Ivan wasn't coming up then walked over a bit to the wall. He almost ran into another object but stopped himself with his hands. He felt up the object, which happened to be a small side table, then up more to find a lamp. He smiled a bit as he turned the lamp on and gave light to the room.

The table was old, the white paint cracking but still dust-clear. The room was lightly pained, the walls looked like it was a light blue but the color had faded, the floor was wooden like the hallway but a light colored rug covered most of it. He looked around a little bit, seeing the bed next to him and the side table, several pillows laying there on top of a blanket that was clearly handmade, stitched with designs of sunflowers. He turned around and looked, seeing a window that curtains covered, a dresser sitting against the wall, a wooden rocking chair in the corner of the room, and a closet. _Surely this wasn't Ivan's room right_? It seemed so feminine. Matthew walked over to the dresser and pulled the draw out to take a look; overalls? He raised an eyebrow as he looked at it, several pairs of them laid in there with button shirts. He looked down to the next draw filled with headbands and clips. He opened the next one but quickly closed it when he saw double-D bras and underwear. Matthew gulped and his face turned a bit red, definitely not Ivan's room. But then… who's was it? He walked back over to the side table to turn the light off but instead opened the draw of the table, hearing it creak made him nervous though. "Ivan…" he whispered to himself as he took an object out of the draw, a framed photograph.

The picture showed that spooky house in the background, but the lawn was covered in grass not stone. The house was brand new and clean, it was years and years ago. He saw Ivan at the center of the picture, between two girls, one bigger and one smaller. He was so small, young. His face was blank and expressionless as it was now. He was so small though, maybe up to Matthew's waist right now. The little girl was on her tippy toes, holding onto Ivan's arm tightly. He was maybe up to his shoulder, though she was on her toes. She had long white-blonde hair with a blue ribbon on top of her head. She wore a tiny blue and white dress that reached down to her knees where her black socks met up at.

The older girl was maybe in her teens, or going to be, he wasn't very sure. Ivan only reached up to her elbow. She had short hair, pulled back by a headband like the ones that were in the draw. She was the only one out of the three that was smiling. He could see two boys in the back sitting on the steps of the house, one blonde with glasses while the other one had brown hair that almost reached his shoulders. There had to be someone taking the picture, so another person was there as well with these children.

But who were they… and where were they now?…

He took the photo out of the frame and turned it over for any info. The date… December 30th, 1980, almost thirty years ago! ? Matthew put the photo back into the frame once he realized the date was the only information on there. He placed the frame back into the draw and left the room carefully closing the door behind him. He froze when he heard steps coming up the stairs. Matthew quickly walked as fast as he could to his room, running would make noise. He jumped onto the bed and got under the blankets, closing his eyes to make it look like he was sleeping. He realized his glasses were still on so he quickly took them off and plopped them on the bed with him. He closed his eyes again to fake sleeping as Ivan creaked the door open. "Are you awake?…" Ivan whispered. Matthew decided to stay still and quiet as Ivan came in and reached over the sleeping boy, taking a hold on his glasses, folding them and putting them on the side table. Matthew gulped a bit and decided to open his eyes and looked at Ivan.

Ivan seemed to pause and look back, though because of his blurry vision Matthew couldn't really see Ivan. "I thought you were asleep." Ivan said. "I'm sorry." Matthew shrugged and sat up, continuing to look at him. "_Can_ you sleep?" Matthew shrugged again. Ivan looked away in hesitation then walked over to the closet, reaching up into it for some object. Matthew squinted his eyes to see what Ivan was carrying. He put the soft object on Matthew's lap as Matthew looked down at it. He picked it up, not really seeing it, but feeling it, it felt so fluffy and soft.

"A teddy bear?" Matthew questioned.

"D-Da." Ivan pulled his scarf up. "I don't know if that will help you sleep or not, but there." Matthew hugged onto the bear a bit.

"It reminds me of Kumajirou." He said.

"What?"

"K-Kumajirou. He's a stuffed bear my father gave me when I was little. He looked like this, all fluffy and white." Matthew smiled a bit with the thoughts. "I sleep with him every night. Thank you." Ivan looked away but he did grin under his scarf, a very slight grin but a grin. The boy liked the bear like his little sister had.

"Good night." Ivan left out the door for the boy to sleep. Matthew sat on the bed, blind as a bat still, then laid down and covered himself with the blankets. He still had that nervous feeling in his core, but by now he managed to calm down most of his nerves. He held onto the bear and managed to close his eyes and not be afraid, falling asleep quickly.

OOO

Matthew gulped down the oddly colored drink once again, the medicine that seemed to help him. Ivan watched to make sure he finished the whole thing. Once he did, he took the cup away and washed it out as Matthew got the taste out of his mouth. "I-Ivan."

"Da?"

"W-why do I have to drink this medicine?"

"I told you. It's because your body is sick." Ivan turned away from Matthew.

"Y-yeah, but why? I'm not sick…"

"Da you are."

"But why?" Matthew questioned. Ivan took a deep breath and turned toward the boy.

"You fell onto those stones and was unconscious for several minutes. Those stones you fell on, they release a poison that you breath in once human skin touch them." Ivan explained. "You breathed in the gas they released. It entered your body, your lungs are infected as well as your blood stream."

"W-What?" Matthew's eyes widen.

"Exactly that. The poison will come out as long as you continue to drink the medicine. You'll return to normal and you will be fine and healthy again."

"But until then?…"

"Until then, you stay here."

"W-Why not just let me go? I can go to a hospital and they can help me eh?"

"Nyet. They cannot help you. They don't know the medicine you need." Ivan said. "You'll die." The phrase sent shivers down Matthew's spine. His stomach suddenly felt like it was twisting and he even felt like he was going to pass out, but he managed to stay standing and still. Ivan continued to look at him though, sensing the boy's uneasiness. "Matthew?" Matthew looked back up at Ivan with frightened eyes. "I'll… die?…." Matthew gulped, the fear and nervousness he had kept down for a while was coming back; he was terrified again.

"I won't let you die." Ivan said. "You won't die. I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"How can you be so sure?… you can't control whether someone lives or dies." Matthew looked down. "You can't do anything."

"I can give you the medicine and make sure you're alright." Ivan tried to ease the situation but Matthew began shivering. Ivan looked away for a moment then back. "Matthew. You will not die." He couldn't find the words to help Matthew, not a single word. "Matthew… are you afraid to die?…" Matthew looked back at him. He never once thought of the question, he never had a reason too. But the feelings he felt, he was sure he was afraid. He nodded. "Why?"

"W-What?"

"Why are you afraid to die?" Ivan said, Matthew looked at him confused. "Why? You've never experienced it before so why?"

"I-I…"

"What reason do you have to be afraid?" _I could remember death…I have a reason… what's yours?… _"Are you afraid that you'll never see your family or friends again? You'll never see any future? Or is it religious? Do you think that there's heaven or hell that you'll go to? Or that this will be it?" Ivan began to smile a bit, he began to like this talk on death. "Or do you just think it would be painful?"

"Shut up…" Matthew's voice was shaky. He had looked down as tears began to fill his eyes, he was terrified but he couldn't be sure why. "Please shut up…" Ivan lost his smile and turned around. He walked toward the door and looked back at Matthew.

"Come with me." Ivan stated blankly and went out the door. Matthew stood there for a moment, his legs were too shaky for him to move at first but he moved one foot at a time and followed Ivan up the stairs, though he fell behind slowly. He followed Ivan through the upstairs hallway and looked as he opened one of the doors with a key he took out from inside his coat. Matthew gulped a bit, _was he going to kill him now?… was that what that conversation was about?…. _

He followed into a darker room that he really couldn't see. Candle light seemed to lit it, he assumed it was because the light bulb had been smashed; he could see the pieces reflecting off in the corner of the room by the light with the missing bulb. The room was older, the walls covered by wallpaper and the floor wooden like the hallway. He could see a bed in the middle of the wall, facing toward the door where he came in. He noticed something in front of the bed though; a chest. Ivan seemed to step in front of it, pausing right there and not moving. "Do you want to know about something? _Death_?" Ivan asked, Matthew shivered a little more. "_My_ death?"

Ivan turned around and looked at Matthew. "This place is full of a lot of secrets for many years. I'm sure you've heard the rumors, da?" Matthew nodded a bit. "I'm not sure what's been said but one of them is most likely true. Several people used to live here, myself including. And I…" His voice trailed off and he looked away. He didn't finish his sentence when he began remembering what had really happened, the angry voice and that flash of light; what he had done to deserve this. "W-What happened?… What happened to you?…" Matthew waited until Ivan began to speak again, but he didn't. Ivan walked over to him.

"Give me your hand." Ivan reached out for him. Matthew blinked in confusion and looked at him suspicions. He slowly lifted his hand up for Ivan, he grabbed onto it gently and reached it up. Matthew looked confused as Ivan held Matthew's hand up to his chest, holding it there. "What do you feel?"

"W-What?…"

"What do you feel?" "Y-You?" he couldn't understand this, he didn't feel anything, just the jacket covering Ivan, though it was thin. "I-I don't understand-what am I-" Matthew's voice trailed off as Ivan shook his head a bit and lifted his hand away from him. He moved it onto Matthew's own chest and held it there. Matthew only looked down at their hands.

"Now what do you feel?" Ivan asked. Matthew still didn't understand, I feel myself? My chest? "You feel yourself breathing don't you? Your chest rising and falling?…" Matthew suddenly understood. His stomach began to twist again. He could feel himself breathing, just like he had felt Ivan. He could feel his heart beating in his chest… something he didn't feel with Ivan. He moved his hand out of Ivan's grip and backed up until he hit the wall. Ivan looked at him, waiting for any response other than panic.

"Y-You're dead! ?" Matthew almost screamed. "That's impossible!" He slid down against the wall a bit. "I-I don't understand… that's impossible… you… you…" He hit the floor, his body still shaking from the realization. Ivan stood there with a blank expression, simply staring at Matthew. Matthew just didn't know what to do…

"I told you I was going to tell you about my death." Ivan pulled his scarf up a bit. "But this is where _you_ come in…."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"But this is where _you _come in."

_Thirty years ago…._

"_Ivan! Come here! Quickly!" Ivan could hear his sister calling for him. He quickly stood up from his desk and hurried outside to her. He looked as his older and younger sister was laying down a hooded character, he couldn't see his face. _

"_Who is that?" Ivan questioned. _

"_We don't know. He collapsed outside and we brought him in." His older sister said. The younger one only stood there with her arms crossed and watching them. Ivan came over and looked toward the young man laying on the couch. _

"_Katyusha, why would you just bring him in?" Ivan questioned as he looked down at the boy, a dark but light blonde hair hid under that cloak, but it seemed like he was unconscious. "Toris!" He called. A young, long brown-haired boy came in, a smaller dark blonde following with him. _

"_Yes sir?" Toris questioned. _

"_Can you please get a cloth or two and some water?" He put his hand on the boy's forehead. "He's very warm." _

"_He was freezing cold when we carried him in." Katyusha said. "He's warm now?" Ivan titled his head a bit, confused on what to do next, and looked toward Toris and the other boy. _

"_Raivis, you get a blanket." Ivan ordered. The smaller boy nodded and the two left as Ivan stood up and away. "He was just on the ground?" Natalia nodded as well as Katyusha did. "He isn't… dead right?…" Katyusha gulped. Ivan looked back down and checked him. _

"_He's breathing." _

"_G-Good." Katyusha sighed in relief as Toris and Raivis returned with the objects Ivan needed. He wet the cloth with some of the water and placed it on the boy's head, then covered his body with the blanket. The boy's eyes twitched a bit but he didn't wake up. "What do we do?"_

"_Leave him until he wakes up." Ivan scratched the side of his head. "That's all we can do." Katyusha nodded and sat on the other couch across from the boy, Natalia sat too. "You two watch him, I'm going to go call the police." _

"_Phones are dead." Natalia said._

"_What?"_

"_They aren't working." She said again. Ivan sighed and left toward the kitchen to get the phone, picking it up and trying to get a call out but nothing really happened. Ivan rubbed his temples a bit and looked around, maybe a cord was lose or something. After all, all the way out here, it was hard to get any wires out there in the first place. Ivan walked back out into the living room where the boy was still sleeping. Natalia and Katyusha looked at him. "What do we do?" _

"_Just let him be…" Ivan sighed. "I just don't know right now." _

_OOO_

"_Thank you very much for your help!" The young man spoke to them. Ivan watched carefully as Katyusha smiled at him, Natalia stayed in her same emotionless face. Raivis, Toris, and another one, Eduard, stayed off to the side in case they were needed. "I appreciate the help very much. I'm at your service." _

"_Who are you?" Ivan quickly asked. _

"_You can call me Roma." He said. "That's what I go by anyway."_

"_Where did you come from?"_

"_Town. I going down the path when I got lost and this… dog attacked me. I ran and I found your house. I'm not a runner so when I got here I was exhausted and passed out." Roma said. "I'm a bit sick because of the rain too." _

"_Just stay under the blanket." Katyusha said. "It'll keep you warm for now." _

"_I'll see if we have any medicine for your cold." Ivan began to walk but Natalia stopped him. _

"_I'll get it brother." _

"_I got it." Ivan hissed a bit and walked into the bathroom, he didn't feel like putting up with his sister's admirations right now. He knew she cared deeply for him, a little too much though and he found it embarrassing in front of guests. Roma smiled a bit though, sensing the dark mood between them and smiled at Natalia, who only glared at first then turned away. _

_They decided to let Roma stay on the couch for the night because of the storms. Raivis, Toris, and Eduard were the first to go to their bed, Ivan let them go to bed early for their help. Katyusha was so tired Ivan had to help her up the stairs to bed, him and Natalia were some of the last. He fell asleep quickly. But she didn't. She ventured down the stairs to get a drink of water from the kitchen, but Roma's voice stopped him. "Hello miss~" _

"_What do you want?" Natalia glared. _

"_I have a question." _

"_What?"_

"_What is the relationship between you and Mr. Ivan?" Roma titled his head. _

"_My brother." Natalia gulped._

"_Why does it look like there's more then? Do you two not get along?" Roma asked. Natalia gulped again and shook her head. Ivan never appreciated her, ever. Everything she did he never thanked her for or praised her. She hated that. "He doesn't appreciate you darling~ Come here~" She looked over at the boy's glowing red eyes, the only thing that was really lit in the dark room. Natalia gulped and came over a bit, it seemed like she couldn't stop herself from going over. She said next to him as he looked into her eyes. "Maybe we should… fix that… huh?…" _

_OOO_

"_You don't understand at all!" Natalia yelled. Ivan stood there with his arms crossed as Natalia continued to yell out of no where. She was always calm, until this moment. He stood there and listened as she continued to yell. "What am I to you! ?"_

"_My little sister." _

"_That's it! ? After everything I do for you! ?" She growled and quickly grabbed onto her brother's arms. "W-Why do you treat me like this?"_

"_I treat you like the way I should treat my sister." Ivan simply said. "Natalia I have nothing to tell you. You're my-" She quickly jumped in and kissed the Russian's lips. He automatically pushed her away and even into the wall with a thump. He gulped a bit and reached over to help her but she slapped his hand away. _

"_Don't touch me! Jerk!" Natalia slapped him and quickly ran out the door before Ivan could say another word. What's gotten into her?… Why was she acting like that?… He rubbed his cheek and shook his head, he just didn't understand. _

_He had no idea this would change everything either…._

_It was quiet, not even the falling snow made a sound. Ivan sat in his study room writing in his journal, the one he had kept since his parents had died. He knew the three servants had their day off as they relaxed up stairs, reading books, talking, or cooking for fun. He knew Katyusha was knitting something for him, she had said it would be a small gift for him. He didn't know where Natalia was. She was mad at him and hadn't spoken a word to him after their argument the night before. Roma stayed on the couch, though the creepy smile he had on his face made Ivan feel uneasy. He shook his head and continued writing, the door was closed but he still felt as if someone was still watching him. _

_That's when she came in, during all that silence she barged in. "You're going to regret this…" Natalia growled. _

"_W-What?"_

"_You're going to regret this! I'll steal everything that matters to you! You will be dead inside and out! You'll never touch another human being! You'll never feel emotion! You'll be alone forever! Forever Ivan! You won't even get the chance to die! You'll never be loved like I had!" Her eyes were as red as Roma's, and the creepy boy stood behind her with his black cloth covering him. Ivan's eyes widen as he could see that boy's creepy smile once again, he believed he even saw a fang sticking out of his mouth. "Roma! Do it now!" Roma's smile widen as he lifted his hand, a flash of light blinded Ivan. _

_He couldn't remember anything. He couldn't feel anything. He slowly rolled onto his back, feeling the hard floor underneath him he moaned in some pain. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up, only seeing Roma sitting in his chair smoking a cigar from one of his cases. Ivan gulped a bit and looked at him. "W-Wh….what happened?…" Ivan gasped completely breathless. _

"_You're little sister was easy to brainwash." Roma let out a puff. "She fell into my trap and took my deal." _

"_W-What are you… talking about?…" _

"_I'm magical, Ivan. I have certain powers that can take over your minds and bodies. You're alone now." He stood up as Ivan forced himself to get to his forearms, then to his knees. He panted, barely able to breath, as he looked up at Roma. _

"_What did you.. .do?…"_

"_What your sister said. You're alone, you'll never be loved again. You're stuck here forever."_

"_W-What…"_

"_I cast a spell on you and your home. You're alone, forever."_

"_Where are my sisters! ?" Ivan yelled but Roma only smiled more. He lifted a chest up from the ground and shook it around. Ivan gasped and grabbed onto his chest as pain struck his entire core. He shook in pain as he fell back to the ground, not able to even breathe anymore. Roma dropped the chest on the ground as Ivan screamed in pain. "S-Stop! What is that! ? What are you doing! ?"_

"_This, this is your entire being." Roma held the chest in his hands. "Your heart." _

"_W-What?" _

"_Your sisters are gone. Your three friends are gone. This house is empty and you will never leave it." Roma smiled as the windows slammed and locked shut, the shutters closing on them. Nails flew in out of no where and flung into the window, nailing it shut. Ivan panted as he looked, Roma placing the chest down on his seat and getting onto his knees next to Ivan. "I took your heart. It's no longer beating in your body but in that chest. You'll never die because of that. You'll be stuck here, alone, forever." _

"_W-Why?… why did you…"_

"_It keeps me young. I'm over 600 years old, Ivan. Every spell I cast that takes lives keeps me young. This was my chance to become immortal." Roma smiled. "Thank you~ my first spell with removing someone's entire life makes me feel so alive!~" Ivan attempted to grab onto him but his hand fell to the ground as Roma stood up. A tear seemed to slid down Ivan's face as he dropped back to the floor. _

"_Let me die…"_

"_You can't. Your heart will continuing beating in that wooden chest until the spell is broken. Until then, you won't die."_

"_How long will that be! ?" _

"_It's tricky. Until someone loves you." Roma smiled. "Until you actually use your heart. Until one person loves you and connects with you. Only then will you get your heart back and become human." He smiled more. "But, if you find this person that you love and they don't love back, or they love and you don't love back, you'll begin to die. You'll know that your death is coming with pain." Ivan laid on the ground and shook, unable to understand any of this situation. "You killed them all… you did this to me…" He got to his knees then to his feet, able to stand this time. "You bastard!" He quickly grabbed onto Roma and slammed him into the wall, lifting him up by his own throat. Roma panicked and tried to get away but Ivan's rage only forced him to chock him harder. "You'll pay!" Roma's hands began to glow as he pushed Ivan away, but that wasn't enough. He quickly grabbed onto Roma's throat again and twisted it, breaking the boy's neck then tossing him onto the ground like a piece of shit. _

_Ivan stood there shaking, his eyes completely blank, his face pale of any color. He held onto the wall and used it to help himself out into the other room. He looked over as the house was completely empty. His face stayed blank of any emotion as he tried to walk over to the stairs, only to fall by the couch. He looked up as he saw a light pink scarf laying on it, just finished in time. The needles lay on the floor like they were dropped, the scarf just laid there complete. He lost it. Ivan let his tears out as he lifted up the scarf his sister had made him, the last thing she probably did before…. He couldn't bear to think of it anymore…. _

_He was done… _

Matthew stood against the wall as Ivan stood in front of him. Ivan blinked and looked down at Matthew who only gulped. There was nothing to say anymore, the story was told. Matthew's eyes moved from Ivan's to the chest sitting in front of the bed, _his heart? That's where it is?…_He looked back up at Ivan and opened his mouth to say something but Ivan quickly kissed the boy's forehead and hurried out the door before he could say another word. Matthew stood there in a bit of shock and even blushed as he looked toward the Russian walking out the door. He closed the door behind him and stood against the wall next to it.

Ivan clutched onto his chest in pain….

OOO

"Alfred! You can't be serious!" Kiku tried grabbing onto Alfred's arm but he pulled away and grabbed the rest of his bullets. Kiku backed away as Alfred loaded his gun then put the other bullets in his pocket.

"I'm going in to get him!" Alfred yelled. "H-He was- no, he _is_ my friend. He's like a brother to me. I gotta get him!"

"He could be dead by now!"

"Whether he's alive or not, I'm getting him out. If he's alive, I'll get him home. If he's dead… I'll avenge him… and _kill that monster_!" Alfred fixed his glasses as he put his gun into his back pocket. "I'm going to end this!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Matthew laid in the bed he had gotten used to after days of staying here. It was soft like a cloud, he didn't want to move. After what he had learned the night before, he couldn't find the motivation to even move from that bed. He had learned something cruel, evil in the flesh, and couldn't understand it. The images of Ivan's story rushed through his head, the fact that he knew that chest was in Ivan's room made his stomach feel sick. _Who… who would do that… to another human being?…_

_"Sometimes, people are cruel. Not all of the world is peaceful and spread love like I do,_" his father once said, _"Some people just want to watch other people suffer… they want to be cruel… they love that feeling. Those people exist… you can call them 'demons'…"_ The words seemed to echo back in Matthew's mind now. His father's voice, he missed it. He remembered it though, he remembered when his father said that statement… Matthew was only a child huh? He closed his eyes, trying to remember anything. Something had happened, he couldn't remember what. His eyes twitched as bloody images came back to his mind, his hands covered in it. He quickly opened his eyes as the dreadful feeling that _he_ was covered in the blood.

His heart pounded faster in his chest with the thoughts, his head ached with every beat as well. He clutched onto his chest though, _Ivan's heart was gone_. He felt guilty… _Ivan_… he hadn't seen Ivan. He got up on his forearms then up to sitting, looking around the room made him feel a bit dizzy. He felt sick and he couldn't understand it; that story made him feel so sick… He held onto his chest, feeling his own heart beating, and gulped a bit._ Ivan…_ He couldn't get the thoughts out of his head, they scarred him, they burned into his mind. _Could Ivan even feel anything?…_ He couldn't comprehend at all….

Ivan clutched onto the chest that held his own heart in it. He sat against the bed holding it in his arms. His eyes were blank, he couldn't do anything anymore. Pain started to run through his core as he only grabbed onto the chest more. He didn't know what to do… he had told the story, he didn't know how Matthew reacted… he didn't know how to approach him now. One person had gotten into his house, Matthew was that person. There was a reason right?… Maybe… he was the one to break the curse? M-Maybe it was possible?… He shook his head.

He simply didn't know the answer to these questions.

OOO

Alfred grabbed onto the bars of the fence, looking through them to the haunting house where he believed his friend was dead, mutilated even. His grip around the bars got tighter as his anger build, there was no way he could just leave him in there, not after all they've been through. They had escaped death together once before, he felt like he owed him, they were friends like brothers, he felt too close to him to lose him now! If he was dead, Alfred would be sure to avenge him. If he was alive, he would come home… and that monster would pay.. He looked down at the stoned lawn, something about it didn't seem right. He remembered how quickly Matthew had passed out once he stepped onto the stones, how the monster then got him. Maybe if you touched them, they paralyzed you? Something wasn't right. He grabbed the bandana he had in his pocket and quickly threw it between the bars and onto the stones. Nothing.

He growled a bit and carefully stuck his leg in through the fence, getting his foot to step onto the stones even against the tight opening. He could see it! The green poisons gas leaked out between the cracks of the stones. Alfred quickly yanked his foot out and back then covered his mouth. He backed away until the gas stopped creeping out. Alfred growled a bit, he knew he would have to find a way in very fast now. He walked along the fence, looking in at the house for a way in. He knew the monster didn't use the front door, there had to be another way in. He moved his speed from a walk to a run, running fast along the fence to the back of the house to find an opening. He paused and stayed still when he saw it: the small door that led into the basement of the house. He smirked and used the bandana to cover his face then reached up to grab onto the bars of the fence, pulling himself up and onto the fence to get over.

OOO

Matthew wondered down into the kitchen to find Ivan there already, making the boy's medicine. Matthew stayed silent and stood at the door way, waiting for Ivan to turn around to see him but Ivan stayed looking straight ahead. He stirred the medicine in the mug then lifted his head up a bit, realizing the boy was standing there. He turned around and looked toward the young boy in a bit of nervousness. "Are you alright?" He asked. Matthew shrugged, he didn't know anymore. Everything was just too much for him now. A faded memory had started to take over Matthew's mind, which was already full of confusion. He barely looked at Ivan though, he kept his blank eyes toward the floor. "Matthew?…"

"Huh?"

"I-Is something bothering you?" Ivan came closer to the younger boy, against his pain, as Matthew nodded a bit. "What's wrong?… was it… what I told you?…"

"Partly… I'm confused, deeply confused.. But at the same time I just…" He frowned. "I just don't know anymore.. I don't understand…" Ivan frowned and lifted his hand up to the boy's cheek, Matthew quickly looked up at him. Ivan then moved his hand to the boy's head, gliding his fingers through the boy's soft hair.

"I'm sorry." He said, "I didn't mean to upset you like this. I understand you've been through a lot in your life, this isn't making it any better." Matthew blinked.

"What do you mean?…"

"Obviously something happened to you, I can tell." Ivan placed his hand on the boy's left shoulder, then slid it down to his chest. "You were hurt." He slid his finger up and pulled down the boy's collar of his shirt, revealing part of his chest. "You even have a scar." He noticed. Matthew continued to only look only at the Russian's face. "I forced more onto you, I'm sorry."

"I don't…" Matthew's voice trailed off. He reached his hands up to Ivan's collar, then let them drop a little to his chest. He could feel the Russian's chest move with each breath, but no heart beat. He knew he couldn't feel it, there was nothing to feel but he kept his hands there as Ivan kept his hands cuffed around the boy's face. "I just…" Ivan started to get closer to the boy, getting his head closer to him as the two heated up. "You…" Matthew closed his eyes as Ivan moved in more, about to place a kiss on the boy's lips. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, their lips almost touching…

_Crash!_

Ivan quickly jumped back with the huge sound coming from the main hallway. Matthew froze and looked at Ivan in confusion, what in the hell could that be? "Stay here." Ivan told him and quickly took off to the main hallway. Ivan carefully walked through the door to the main part, looking around for anything out of the ordinary. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the basement door shattered to its wooden pieces on the floor. Ivan blinked in shock and looked around more, some_thing_ or some_one_ got in.

Ivan looked toward the door, then took a step over to take a peek down the stairs to see if he could find anything, only pitch darkness remained. Ivan stood up tall and glared at the door, he knew someone was in his house and he didn't like that idea. His mind quickly switched to worry over Matthew, he could be threatened! Ivan quickly turned back toward the door to leave, placing his hand on the knob. He didn't hear the soft footsteps behind him. One thing he did hear was the sound of gun shooting off… and he could feel… the pain of the bullet going through his back.

Matthew jumped with the sound in the kitchen. He stood still in confusion of what to do, he didn't know what that sound was. The second time he heard it though, he knew what and where it came from and he quickly took off toward the main hallway. He ran as fast as he could, barging through the door and coming into the sight. His eyes widened as he saw Ivan on the ground, blood covering his shoulder and back. "Ivan!"

"Nyet! Get away!" Ivan yelled back but Matthew didn't move. His eyes followed the trail of blood on the floor to the man holding the weapon, Alfred.

"M-Mattie…" Alfred smiled a bit. "Y-You're alive… You're alive!"

"Alfred… no… don't hurt him."

"Don't hurt him! ? He took you away into this house! What did he do to you! ? Huh! ? Are _you_ hurt! ?"

"I didn't hurt h-"

"Shut up monster!" Alfred yelled before Ivan could even finish his sentence and pointed the gun back up at him. "Don't you say another damn word!"

"Alfred no!" Matthew quickly jumped in front of Ivan. "Please you don't understand Alfred!"

"I don't understand? I don't understand! ? He took you away into this house! He kidnapped you Mattie!" Alfred swung the gun around. "I thought I was going to lose you… I couldn't lose you again…" Ivan looked up at the two, again?… "He took you from me… from your dad… from all of us… and he'll pay!" Matthew put his arms up and protected Ivan the best he could, standing in front of the aim of the weapon.

"Alfred, you don't understand the situation. H-He saved me. I was hurt, I hit my head and he helped it see?" Matthew moved his bangs out of the way to show the healing scar. "The stones outside. They poisoned me and he's been helping me! He saved my life not took it away from me." He looked back at Ivan, his eyes filled with pain, then back to Alfred. "And he's not a monster…." Alfred kept his gun up and stared angrily at Ivan, he couldn't let this go. "I-I'm okay now… w-we can just go… just leave now…" Matthew stepped forward and grabbed onto Alfred's wrist, having him lower the gun a bit. "L-lets just go… please…" He managed to get Alfred to completely lower the weapon. Alfred looked blankly at Matthew and nodded a bit as the boy grabbed onto his arm and began pulling him toward the broken door. He began pulling Alfred down the stairs as Ivan began to weakly stand up. But Alfred changed, he quickly turned.

Gun shots went off again as Matthew screamed to stop. Ivan's eyes widened as the pain struck through his entire body with each bullet, the firing only continued. Matthew tackled Alfred onto the floor as Ivan fell backwards into the wall, then sliding down until he sat on the floor. He couldn't be sure how many bullets hit him, maybe five, maybe eight, and it killed him with pain. Ivan looked blankly as Matthew tried his best to keep Alfred down, though the stronger Alfred was hard to keep down. He got so angry that he actually hit Matthew with the back of the gun, pushing him off and quickly getting up to go over to Ivan, getting ready to finish the Russian. Matthew laid on the ground and tried screaming for Alfred to stop, trying to get up but he felt fuzzy and weak. He tried getting up to his feet but he quickly fell to his knees with the weakness taking over his body. He gasped for breath and fell forward onto the ground, not able to move anymore. Ivan's eyes widened as he looked toward Matthew. "Stop… stop!" Ivan found the strength to get up and run toward Matthew as Alfred did.

"Mat! ?" Alfred dropped to his knees in front of Matthew's numb body. He quickly turned the boy over and froze, seeing him unconscious and pale. "Matthew! ? Matthew wake up!" He slapped the boy's face a bit as Ivan lost his energy, only able to slowly walk over and fall in front of the boy. Alfred began to tear up as he reached down to check for the boy's signs of life, only finding nothing. "Matt! Wake up!" He began to cry as Ivan stayed silent, only lifting his hand to the boy's cold and blank face. "What did you do! ?"

"I did nothing, the poison attacked his heart." Ivan gulped and moved his hand away, he didn't know what to do now. Alfred cried and held onto the boy's shirt, shouting to come back and wake up. Ivan sat there with a blankness expression, he couldn't deal with this… he needed to do something… he had to…

He pushed Alfred away, backwards onto the floor, and looked over Matthew. He sat on his knees and bent over the boy, looking down at his lifeless face and gulped. "What are you doing?…" Alfred questioned. Ivan gulped again and licked his lips a bit, maybe this way his chance, maybe it was the only way. He let his head down, his lips touching Matthew's, and kissed his cold lips. Ivan gulped and did it again, and again, and once more. This had to work, if he loved him that curse would be broken. The poison would disappear like it never effected him, right? It had to work!…_ it had to_… Ivan lifted his head away and looked down at the boy.

He blinked. He looked at the boy's full eyes awake. Ivan smiled a bit and looked at Matthew who only blinked and took a deep breath, he could _breathe_ again, he was _alive_ again. He smiled and looked up at Ivan. "I-Ivan…" He whispered. "Y-You saved me… d-didn't you?…"

"I-I believe I did…" Ivan smiled in such relief. "It's alright now… you're okay now…"

"And so are you…"

"Huh?…"

"Your face… it's not as pale…" Matthew lifted his hand up to Ivan's cheek. "You're warm…" He moved his hand down the Russian's throat and to his chest, he smiled more. He grabbed onto Ivan's hand and lifted it to his own chest, keeping it under Matthew's hand. "You're alive…" Ivan's eyes widened even more as his smile grew. The feeling of being alive… he had forgotten what it was like, what it was like to feel his heart beating again, to feel warm instead of always numb, to love… to just… _be alive_…

"M-Matthew…" Alfred's voice shook as he looked at his friend. "Y-you're alive… You're alive!" Ivan lifted himself away, still feeling the pain of the bullet wounds, as Alfred pounced down and hugged onto him. "T-That's it! It's time to go! We need to go!" He stood up and looked toward the basement door but instead looked toward the front door; the nailing was gone! Everything, everything was gone. The stones disappeared, the nails, the fence, it was all gone! Ivan smiled a little more.

"O-Okay Al… we'll go." Matthew reached up for Alfred to help him up, which he did, then held onto his hand and pulled him toward the door. Ivan's smile disappeared as he looked at Matthew, he was leaving… he was leaving! No! "I-It's okay Ivan." Matthew smiled toward him. "It'll be okay. C-Come on Al." He turned and opened the door to the outside world, the sun actually shined through; something Ivan hadn't seen in thirty years, it blinded him. He managed to watch though as Matthew pulled Alfred out, leaving him behind. He was okay with that though… he was saved… he knew it would be just _fine_… and he would see Matthew again…

But Alfred's eyes seemed to flicker with anger as he got out of Matthew's grip then shut the front door in front of him, leaving Matthew outside. He lifted his gun up once again and shot Ivan, hitting his chest and forcing him to fall backwards into the wall as he heard Matthew's crying screams from outside. He broke the door in, quickly pushing it in and running in to protect Ivan as Alfred clicked his gun for the ending bullet. "Stop! Just stop! Please!" Matthew cried as he dropped to his knees to protect the wounded Russian laying on the ground behind him. "He just saved me! Please! J-Just stop! STOP ALFRED!"

Alfred froze with his gun in his hand, still pointed down at the two. Ivan coughed up blood onto the floor as Matthew teared up, begging Alfred not to shoot again….

Just then, a bullet stuck Matthew's shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

_The feeling of a bullet going through your body… it's the most painful feeling a human could endure… _

_It first feels numb… like nothing had happened… but then it all attacks you at once, the pain feels unbearable… especially to a child… to someone who can't take pain… for someone… who has died… from a bullet… _

"_I hate counting to twenty! There's no way I can do it backwards!" Little Alfred gently threw his crayon down onto the plastic table. The kindergarten classroom was filled with small talk of about twenty students, all trying to do the same task that was assigned; count backwards from twenty. All the kids barely knew how to count, they were just learning. They had given up and continued to draw on their papers as the teacher helped one of the students who actually tried… his name was Li… at least that's what he could remember. The day was overall quiet, like any other school day. They were dropped off by their parents early, they would go home by lunch time, which was maybe fifteen minutes away. _

"_It's easy Alfie," Little Matthew said. He put down his crayon and looked toward his friend, "It's just like in the song teacher taught us, but backwards!" _

"_That's stupid!" Alfred pouted and crossed his arms. "I wanna go home and eat already… boo the numbers!"_

"_You gotta know them," Matthew poked Alfred's cheek. "It's easy."_

"_Prove it, I bet you can't." _

"_I-I could," Matthew thought a bit. "Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, sixteen, fifteen,… um… fourteen! F-fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven, ten!" _

"_Geez, you are smart." Alfred pouted._

"_Hehe… Then it's ten, nine, eight… um, seven, six, five… then four, three, two, and one." _

_The door of the classroom suddenly broke down and startled the children. Matthew and Alfred quickly looked up as a stranger walked into the classroom with crimson liquid soaked into his jacket. The two couldn't see his face, it was covered with some kind of mask. He began yelling at the kids, waving some kind of black object in his hand that shot off with a horrible sound that echoed around the room. The next they knew it, the teacher had fallen against the wall and fell to the floor, the same crimson liquid splattered all over her. He ordered the kids to get up, to stand against the wall, his voice send shivers down Matthew's spine. _

"_Get down." Alfred grabbed onto Matthew's arm and pulled him under the small table. The two peeked out as their classmates stood against the wall as the trembling man paced back and forth in front of them, they all seemed to whimper and cry until the man yelled at them to shut up. The horrible sound went of again… and again… and again and again and again! Matthew tried to cover his ears but his hands shook too much to actually cover them. Alfred stayed close to him under the small table as he watched their classmates fall to the ground, their heads soaked in the same color… _

_The sound had stopped, the man stood there still… it was done now. Alfred covered his mouth so not a single peep could come out, Matthew did the same. But the little blonde girl hiding under the table let out a small whimper, in which the man heard and rushed over. He flipped the table over and aimed the object at the girl. The terrifying sound went off again as the girl fell back. Matthew wanted to cry, he couldn't understand what was happening… he heard no sound from anyone else, just the man's angry breathing, not even his own or Alfred's. His heart pounded in his chest with pure terror as the man stood several inches away. They didn't make a single sound, but he knew. _

_The table was flipped off them as he aimed the object at the two of them. "I told you to line up!" The man yelled with a rough voice. "N-Now you have to be punished…" That sound went off again._

_It hurt so much… the feeling… the numbness that came with the bullet that had entered his chest… then the pure pain… _

_Matthew's blank eyes were only focused on the ceiling as he coughed a bit for air. One of his hands laid on his chest, on the wound that pained him to the point that he couldn't move. He clutched onto his chest with the pain soaring through his body, he couldn't understand what was happening. He didn't blink, he didn't move, he couldn't speak, he simply stared at the ceiling and took the pain the best he could… he couldn't stop his eyes from tearing though. _

"_M-mat…" He could hear Alfred's shaky voice next to him. "H-hey… s-stay here o-okay?…" He could hear, he could feel Alfred's hand grab onto his empty one that laid on the floor. "M-Mat…" Matthew gasped for air but instead chocked a bit on the blood that laid in his mouth, he tried coughing it up. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he couldn't even breathe anymore. The feeling of Alfred's hand slowly began to disappear, simply fade away. "M-mat… t-their coming… t-those heroes t-teacher talked about.. T-their gonna c-come… a-and help us… o-okay?…" He knew Alfred was trying not to cry, but the fear in his voice only made Matthew more afraid. "J-just stay awake…" _

_He couldn't anymore… he couldn't breathe, he couldn't stay awake… everything felt numb…his hand clutching his wound lost its grip… he could feel his heart slowing it's pace… giving out.. He felt cold… so cold… he felt tired…he breathed out and closed his eyes. _

_Everything was blank, silent, numb, nothing… it was nothing… he was nothing… he was gone… _

_He suddenly heard voices, beeping sounds, the sound of an siren, he could hear again… he could see bright lights, shadows in the shapes of people above him… he could feel his body again, but he felt very cold still, a numbing kind of cold._

_He could open his eyes, he could see people…_

"_He's stable," He could hear. _

"_Heart rate 119." He could hear. _

"_The bleeding is starting to stop," He could hear. _

"_He's waking up," he could hear. "Matthew, you're okay, just don't move okay?"_

"_Papa…" he could hear himself say…_

"_You're going to see your father very soon, it'll be okay." He could hear. The bright lights hurt his eyes, he couldn't see anyone's faces, just their figures. He could hear his own shaky breathing, his breath stuttering every time air entered his lungs. He was still numb, he still felt cold, he couldn't know what was happening… that pain though… that pain was still there… it still struck his entire being, it attacked at his core; it hurt too much… "It's going to be okay Matthew…" _

That same pain struck now…

Matthew fell back a bit with the impact of the bullet but regained his balance. His eyes gazed down to his shoulder as the hot liquid soaked into his shirt and dripped down his arm. It was numb… simply numb… he knew the feeling, he knew the pain would come… but it wasn't… it wasn't coming…

His eyes gazed back up toward Alfred. Alfred stood there in confusion and fear, he didn't understand… his gun was empty… his gun was already empty. His ear rang though, from the sound that had been shot off so close to him. He looked over his shoulder then quickly backed away once he saw the gun so close to his own head.

"Little boy, you should step away now." The figure with the gun behind Alfred said. He clicked the weapon, "Or the next bullet will through your skull." The figure stood under a hooded cape, just like Roma had done. Ivan stared at him in disbelief, he couldn't understand. "Well? Move!"

"No!" Matthew yelled angrily. Ivan's eyes widened with the thought that the next bullet would take Matthew's life, he quickly tried to stand himself up. Matthew turned and looked down as the Russian used to wall to lift himself up, his blood dripping onto the floor. "I-Ivan?…" He grabbed onto the boy's shoulder.

"I-It's okay," Ivan breathed heavily. "I-I don't want you getting hurt anymore."

"Yeah! ? L-Look at you!"

"I'm fine, this is nothing." Ivan tried his best to stand up straight and look at the stranger. "Neither of them have anything to do with why you're here, don't hurt either of them anymore." Ivan knew, he knew what was happening; the ending of the story. Alfred gulped a bit as Matthew only looked in worry at Ivan. Ivan only smiled and reached his bloodied hand up to Matthew's cheek. "Don't worry, it'll be fine… I want you to take your friend and walk out that door, understand?"

"Bu-"

"Go. Now. Both of you." He let his hand drop away from Matthew and backed up against the wall, he was actually falling back but he couldn't look any weaker right now. "Go ahead. Get out." Matthew teared a bit but didn't let it show, he hurried over to Alfred and grabbed his arm.

"C-Come on Alfred," He said with a shaky voice. "L-Let's go." He pulled Alfred's arm with his only good arm and pulled him toward the door. Alfred stood in more of a shock than anything, but Matthew pulling him seemed to snap him out of it. Matthew looked back at Ivan as Ivan only gave a gentle smile and a nod… Matthew pulled Alfred out and tried to get away from the house.

Ivan looked back toward the stranger as the door shut behind them. The stranger took his hood off, showing his shortish brown hair and his dark eyes. The man slowly walked over to Ivan, who tried getting himself off the wall and onto his feet with balance. The man put the gun up to Ivan's chest though, right over his beating heart, and shot it off. The impact pushed Ivan back into the wall and gasping in pain as he grabbed onto his chest.

"It's beating in your chest again isn't it? Your heart?" the stranger smiled. "Human hearts can't take much, Ivan."

"Y-You… who are you…" Ivan managed to chock out.

"You can call me "Bul" if you want to… you're not going to have much time to though…"

"Y-You're here… because of Roma… aren't you?…" Ivan questioned. The name made Bul glare and put his gun up again, shooting the stop of Ivan's shoulder. "Ugh!… s-so I'm right?… you are here because of him… huh?"

"You killed him!"

"He killed my sisters! H-he killed my friends! He took my own life away for decades!" Ivan yelled then lost the ability to yell anymore, his body felt weak. "He ruined everything… and none of us did anything to deserve it…"

"You did something. Roma wouldn't of just "killed" you all without a reason… you did deserve it, you all deserved it."

"And he deserved to die then." Ivan sharply said. Bul twitched and shot his gun off once again, grazing Ivan's throat through his scarf and hitting the wall. His scarf soaked up the blood as Ivan slipped down the wall in pain, switching his hand from his chest to his throat. His vision was getting blurry, his eyes were pale and blank now. He looked up as Bul pulled his hands away from him, then shot his weapon off again, hitting though both of Ivan's hands. Ivan almost whimpered as his hands shook with pain, he couldn't control it anymore.

"You will pay for killing him…" Bul said. "I've tracked you down for the longest time… when I saw the house's fence and dangers disappear, I knew it was Roma's magic; I knew it was you. I knew you killed him for the longest time, and now you will die too!" Bul grabbed the oiled lamp on the small table that sat against one of the walls. Ivan only watched as Bul spilled the oil onto the ground, then take out a lighter

"T-There's gas in the basement…" Ivan said. "I-if you light it-"

"The whole house will blow up with us inside, I know." Bul said. "That's the plan… my life has been wasted to find you… I want to make sure you're dead… and I want to see Roma again…" His grip on the lighter tightened. "You and me will die together…"

"If you're willing to die… then so be it…" Ivan tried lifting himself up again but he simply couldn't, he fell back onto the bloody ground. "I-I have nothing to live for…" He smiled a bit. "Any life that I have lived took place within the last few days…" He could remember Matthew, the boy he had carried in and tried so hard to keep alive. The boy he had saved and took care of, who had actually cared for him, who loved him enough to break the damn spell they were under… the one that he had fallen in love with. "I've had enough… I'm ready to die… so I can see my sisters and my parents…"

Bul looked down at Ivan, there was nothing left now. He closed his eyes and flicked the lighter on. Within seconds, one small flame had set everything burning, flames and smoke filled the room within a minute, working it's way down to the basement where gas was used as their power source. Ivan closed his eyes, he knew it was over… it was the end of his story. He smiled though, even in the mist of the heat a tear managed to roll down his cheek. He had felt human again, he didn't care anymore. The pain was gone, soon he would be free… the story was over…

Matthew and Alfred managed to get almost out to the woods, far enough away from the house, until Matthew froze; he knew something was wrong. Behind him, the house blew up into the sky, shattering pieces around the area. Matthew quickly turned and looked toward the burning wreckage, his eyed widening in disbelief. He began panting, he couldn't look at it, he knew Ivan was in there… Ivan was gone… right?… just as sirens of police vehicles came closer, Matthew let out a burst of tears and screamed at the top of his lungs. "IVAN! ! ! ! ! ! !"

_To be continued (in chapter seven)_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"_Papa?…" _

"_Ah! Y-yeah! I'm here!" _

_Little Matthew's eyes slowly opened to the image of his father standing over him, his face pale as a ghost and his eyes red like he had been crying for hours. His long blonde hair fell in front of his face in which he had to push it away, he reached his hand down onto the child's little head. "Papa… what happened…" _

"_I can't… I can't describe it to you…" _

"_Where's Alfred?… what happened to Alfred?…"_

"_Your friend is fine, you don't have to worry about him, oui?"_

"_Where's that guy?… where's the guy with the gun?…"_

_His father's voice chocked, "H-he's gone, you don't have to worry about him either… M-Matthew, just don't move too much and rest, oui?"_

"_O-Okay papa…" _

_OOO_

"_What's this?" Little Matthew titled his head toward the animal, a small stuffed bear. He was soft, fluffy, Matthew just wanted to hold onto it and not let it go. He looked up to his father. "It's for me?" _

"_Oui, it's for you." His father said and petted his son's head. "It's a polar bear, you like the artic animals right?"_

"_Yeah! Polar bear!" Matthew hugged onto it more, it fit perfectly in his small arms. "I'm gonna name him Kumajirou okay?"_

"_Why Kumajirou?" _

"_Cause Kumajiri is a good name!"_

"_I-I thought you said Kumajirou?…" _

"_Eh? Oh, it's Kumatiro." Matthew smiled. "Right Kumayuro?" he looked at the small bear like it would talk back as he father only stood there in confusion. Matthew smiled and held onto the bear, then looked up at his father. "Papa, when can I take Kumagiro home?" _

"_U-um… soon." His father's expression changed. "The doctors just want to make sure you're well enough to go home, oui?"_

_Matthew nodded. "And what about Alfred? Is he home yet? Or is he still around the hospital?" _

"_He's, um, he's going home maybe tomorrow." _

"_I want to go home with him! I wanna see Alfred papa." _

"_You will, very soon…" His father kissed his forehead. "It's late, you should sleep." Matthew settled himself in his hospital bed, he still couldn't sleep on his side without feeling intense pain. He laid there flat on his back with his bear close to him in his arms as his father placed the blankets over him. "I'll be back in the morning okay?"_

"_Hey papa," _

"_Oui?" _

"_I have a question… I don't think you're going to like it…" _

_His father sat on the side of the bed and softly smiled "It's okay, you can ask it." _

"_Why do people do bad things?… you said that guy was a bad guy, why did he do bad things?" Matthew asked innocently but the smile on his father had disappeared, he looked like he was going to cry, like he couldn't handle the question. _

"_That's a good question…" His father gulped. "Sometimes… Sometimes, people are cruel… Not all of the world is peaceful and spread love like I do…" He took a deep breathe, he couldn't understand how to put this into words to someone who was only six years old. "Some people just want to watch other people suffer… their very bad people… they want to be cruel… they love that feeling. Those people exist, that bad man was one of them… you can call those people… "demons"…" _

"_Demons are bad…"_

"_Oui, they are… but that's why we have angels to look after us, understand?" His father said, Matthew nodded. "Good… now get some sleep…" _

_OOO_

_Mobs of newscasters was always a familiar sight after that day. After being in the hospital for almost three weeks, the moment Matthew stepped outside a swam of newscasters would surround. The cameras rolling, the flashing going off as they tried to get whatever picture they could of one of the only survivors, the newscasters would surround him with the microphones and quickly rush all their questions at him. "What did the man say? Do you remember what happened? How do you feel about school now? Is it safe? What did you do? Did you see your fellow classmates die?" questions thrown at a child that should never be asked, no matter what the situation. _

_Matthew would cry, he would scream, he would try to get away, he would slowly begin to lose his mind as the horrid memories came back and haunted him more and more. Those newscasters became what he feared the most, he couldn't even turn on the TV without hearing something about himself or one of his deceased friends. He couldn't see Alfred, the boy's parents and his own decided it was best if they didn't see each other for a while but all Matthew wanted was to make sure Alfred was okay, the same was for Alfred. When he would wake up in the morning and look out the window, they would be there waiting, they surrounded his house so he could never leave…. They eventually had to move… _

_Those damn flashes and cameras, he couldn't stand them… they would make him go crazy… he didn't want them there, ever, ever again!… _

_OOO_

"Their still there…" Matthew peeked out the window a bit, the curtains still covering him. He looked as there was a set of newscasters outside the small apartment building, all from different channels but all covering the same story: the boy who escaped "the monster's" grasp in the said-to-be-abandoned house. Alfred looked up from his book and toward Matthew and the window. "It's almost been a week… their not gone yet…"

"They don't give up easily, you and me both know that." Alfred sipped some of his soda. "Just let it be, they will find some other story to go after and leave you alone."

"Their only going to leave if there's a brutal murder or some other kid gets kidnapped…" Matthew gulped. "I don't get why they have to just… attack these people… they've been through enough, they don't need cameras in their faces…"

"They will go away soon," Arthur came into the room holding onto his own book. "Matthew, don't worry about it they will leave soon."

Matthew shut the curtains and looked toward Arthur, "Yeah, I know… they just can't leave fast enough…" he sighed. "Um, Mr. Kirkland, thanks a lot for letting me stay at your place… thank you so much… I don't know how they found out I was here though."

"It's fine, I don't really mind having you or them here." Arthur smiled. "Lad, come on, get away from the window." Matthew moved away and sat on the couch with Alfred.

"How's your arm?"

"Oh, it's good." Matthew looked over at his arm that was still in a sling, the bullet that had hit him had hit bone and his entire arm was injured, though now the pain wasn't so harsh and he could move it around. He relaxed in the couch and sighed a bit, there was nothing for him to do, him and Alfred couldn't even go to their classes yet.

"Dad! I'm home! I got a thingy for Mat!" Peter came in through the door and held up a letter. "Oh! And my teacher said that there's a thing on tonight about the monster thing on channel thirteen."

"Of course there is…" Matthew rolled his eyes then held out his other hand for Peter to put the letter in, which he did. "I can only wonder what channel this is from." He did his best to unfold the letter as Peter took his jacket off and Arthur hung it up. Matthew's annoyed expression suddenly turned to shock with the reading of the letter, Alfred tried to reach over and get it but Matthew quickly pulled it away and put it in his sweatshirt pocket. "Don't worry about it."

"Who's it from?"

"U-um, Papa." He lied. "He said he wasn't able to call so he sent this."

"That's bullshit…"

"Shut up Al!" Matthew squealed a bit and Alfred only laughed and fell over a bit. Matthew smiled softly and held onto the letter in his pocket. He then looked over at Peter, "So when is this thing on eh Peter?"

"Teacher said at like… seven I think." Peter jumped onto the couch too next to his step-brother.

"Why? It's not like you're gonna watch it." Alfred stated but then the look on Matthew's face gave a different idea. "Right?"

"I kinda wanna see what these guys have on it…" Matthew sighed. "I wanna see if they have any truth behind it."

After dinner was served, the kids showered up, and the newscast was still outside, the small family and Matthew sat around the TV, though it hadn't been turned on yet. "Are you sure you want to watch it?" Arthur questioned before pressing the button, thinking of the boy's sensitivity. But Matthew only nodded. Arthur turned the TV on and sat with the rest of them as the TV came up with the news broadcast. Matthew wasn't sure how to react, or how he would react, he didn't know what would be told… if they had said one more bad thing about Ivan, he was going to scream.

_Two weeks ago, police were called in to investigate the kidnapping of a young man by the name of Matthew Williams. Five days ago, they solved the case when they responded to the call that 01 Maple Drive had been involved. Though the house was destroyed, Williams and his friend, Alfred F. Jones, were found outside the burning house by police. When questioned what happened, the two gave no response. _

Matthew watched as images of the burned down house came up, he wanted to look away but he couldn't. _Now let's get to the heart of this story. 01 Maple Drive is said to be one of the first houses build in our town, it is also said to be haunted. For years the house was surrounded by a metal fencing in which no one could climb over, also surrounded by stones that covered the lawn of the house. The house was said to be the home of a "monster" who would take in those who tried to cross his fence. The history of the house was completely unknown until our people dug into the town's history. The house was in fact purchased by the Braginski family more than 30 years ago. The three family members, Katyusha, Ivan, and Natalia Braginski also lived with three other members by the names of Toris Laurinaitis, Raivis Galante, and Eduard Von Bock, who all came from Russia before the Soviet Union had ended. _Matthew looked as old photographs of each of them came up, he could recognize each of them from the photo in Katyusha's room.

_Now, here comes the fact that makes this story a legend: each of those people had died more than thirty years ago except for Ivan Braginski. Their deaths are a complete mystery, even the location of their deceased bodies are unknown but it's believed to be in the house, though nothing was found to support that. It is around the same time that the house's fence and stones were placed around the house, making it impossible to get in. Investigators say it's most likey that Ivan had murdered the other members and burned the bodies, then trapped himself in the house to get away from any police. _Matthew's fingers twitched as he made a fist, how they blame Ivan for their deaths! It wasn't his fault, none of it was his fault! Matthew managed to hold down his anger though it was building up inside him.

_In the present, they believe Ivan became this "immortal monster" who would live longer as long as he had killed another human being. It's said that the five other teenagers who had disappeared in our town most likey fell into his hands, causing more deaths to be put on this man's list. This is only the legend, the monster would take it's victim's hearts and use them to "replace his own" or eat for meals, many legends have gone around about it. _Matthew growled a bit, he didn't like them calling him a monster.

_This brings us to our present case. Three young men, Matthew Williams, Alfred F. Jones, and Kiku Honda along with a younger child went to the house as a dare, sending Williams over the fence, but he fell and hit his head, knocking him unconscious in the monster's territory. The two then said they saw a figure standing there, then picked Williams up and brought him inside the house somehow. No one knows what happened in the time Williams was kidnapped inside the house to the time police showed up. Matthew Williams has yet to comment on anything related to this case except for one statement at the police station. _Matthew got a angry look on his face, they wouldn't would they? Oh but they did…

The channel played the video, the cameras had crowded him after he was released from the station, all they did were say hateful questions about Ivan. "Who was he? What did he do to you? Did you find any bodies? Did he rape you? Did he abuse you? Did this monster torture you? Was he a demon?" more and more questions came up, all of them calling Ivan the monster, calling _him_ the murderer, calling _him _the bad guy… he wasn't a bad guy… the man who killed his friends, he was a demon… Ivan didn't do anything… He simply tried his best to ignore the questions, him and Alfred fighting through the crowd to get home, but Matthew snapped. "IVAN DID NOTHING! HE WASN'T THE MONSTER! STOP MAKING HIM OUT TO BE THE BAD GUY! GO AWAY!" He had screamed at all of them and they all became silent, then the cameras went off again as he and Alfred got into the car.

Matthew sat there watching that video, reliving that moment again.

_The victim, Matthew Williams, was one of six children to survive the HetaCare school massacre, which killed thirty students and four teachers. Though there is no connection with Ivan and this school, it's said the boy was taken in out of the four children for "special reasons". Police haven't given any comment on the victim, and Williams himself has not given a single comment other than the one he gave at the station. One officer did describe the boy as "mentally unstable" and "afraid" as he was questioned. He was the only one of the six children to survive the school massacre that was mentally stable at the time. Now it's said that the second trauma may of pushed him too far and made him give false or incorrect information if any at all. _"Bullshit!" Matthew yelled in anger.

"M-Maybe we should turn it off?" Alfred reached for the remote but Matthew quickly took it away and continued to watch. _A psychologist who was there during testing told us that the Williams' memories of what could of happened were most likely fake and no use in this case, making it harder to understand what, if anything, happened inside that house. They would like to say it was all a physiological break and dream of Matthew Williams but because the three other boys that were there saw this "monster", this has become an abduction case. _

Matthew's hand twitched a bit, how they call him crazy, they had no clue at all! He felt angry, he couldn't decide who at though… maybe just himself… He took a deep breath and sat back in the seat.

_The events that had happened in that house are completely unknown, only adding onto this legend of a monster. When investigators took a look around the remains of the burned down house, they found nothing at all, though it's believed Ivan was in fact inside the house when it exploded. Details of this entire mystery are unknown to everyone, not one person knows anything and it's possible this tale will never have an correct ending. Until Williams gives any response to this tale, it will have to end without an ending, a to-be-continued. It is possible that this "monster" is still out there though, if he really cannot die. _He's not a monster… he can die… Matthew frowned as he listened to the ending of the small special. _Until we gain more information, this is Amelia sighing off for the night… stay safe everyone. When new information comes out, we'll be the first ones to cover it. Good night all. _

"Idiots… all of them…" Matthew wiped his eyes a bit so Alfred or Arthur couldn't see his tears. He quickly stood up. "I-I'm going to bed… g-good night." He quickly rushed toward the bedroom he was sharing with Alfred.

"Hey Mat," Peter's voice stopped him. "Are you ever gonna tell what happened in that house?… what he did to you?…"

Matthew stood silent with his hand on the door knob, then spoke, "He saved my life… that's what he did to me… he saved me…" Matthew quickly went into the room and into his bed.

OOO

"_Uncle Gilbert!" Little Matthew quickly ran out of his room and into his Father's friend's arms, who he called uncle because he was like family. The white-haired man only spun the little one around then put him back onto his feet. _

"_How's my favorite little nephew doing?" Gilbert pet the little one's head. _

"_Good! Really good!" Matthew giggled. _

"_That's good, I'm glad you're okay." _

"_You look very cheerful~!" His father's other friend, who he also called uncle, Antonio smiled. _

"_I am uncle Anti," Matthew could never say Antonio's full name. "Papa gave me a new friend too!" Matthew quickly climbed onto the couch and picked up his little bear, showing it to the two. "I call him Kumdio!" _

"_I thought it was Kumajirou." His father corrected again. Matthew only looked at the bear's face. _

"_Something like that." He said. _

"_How about you and Kumajirou go play in your room while me and your uncles talk a bit okay?" _

"_Okay papa!" Matthew carefully jumped off the couch, though his father didn't like him doing that because he wasn't fully healed yet, and ran into his room, closing the door only to the crack. His father turned to Gilbert and Antonio then let out a great sigh. _

"_Hey, Francis," Gilbert started. "He's fine, you don't have to worry about him anymore."_

"_He's still having nightmares…" Francis frowned. "Plus I can't even let him outside because those damn newscasters will attack him for an interview… I don't know what to do… they won't leave him alone." _

"_I know, it was a pain in the ass just to get in here." Gilbert said. _

"_They gave me this though," Francis held up a little to the two, then Gilbert snatched it from his hands and began reading. _

"_Your son is one of six children who survived a mass murder, he is also the only one that is well enough to speak as the others are either still unconscious, too shaken up to speak, or are still healing from very serious wounds. We would like to interview Matthew only once in a reserved meeting, no shouting or crazy questions, and will enforce this. We understand the hardships of this situation right now, we give all respects. Once one interview is given though, most channels will leave your son alone. Please respond by contacting the number below." Gilbert read. _

"_They don't know shit! They don't understand what's going on! My son saw his classmates die in front of him, he was shot and actually died until they revived him!… he's asking when he can go back to school you know? He wants to see his friends and teacher again and I can't bring myself to tell him that he's never going to see them again, that their all dead." Francis held his head in his hands. "So… what? What do I do?…" _

"_If this will get them away, I say do it." Antonio said. "It'll get them away from Mat, it'll be over for now."_

"_It won't be over…"_

"_That part will be over." Gilbert said. "The rest time will just have to sort out." Francis shook his head, he couldn't know what to do, he wanted it to be dealt with though. "Matt is a good and strong boy, he can handle it." _

"_The flashes of the cameras are bothering him." Francis sighed. "I see it, he gets terrified and he grabs onto my coat…"_

"_The sound and the flash probably reminds him of the gun." Antonio said, "He'll get over it in time okay? Just let him do it so it can start moving on." Francis nodded and stood up, heading toward Matthew's room to ask him to do it. _

_That morning, Francis zipped up Matthew's coat and put the boy's hat over his head to prepare for the cold outside. "Now if at any time you feel uncomfortable, you tell me okay? We can leave any time." _

"_Okay papa." _

"_You got Kumajirou with you?" _

"_Yup!" _

"_G-Good." Francis stood up from his bend. "I'm just going to get my keys okay?" _

"_Okay papa." Matthew stood there with his teddy bear in his arms as his father left into kitchen to get the keys. Matthew first stood there holding onto his bear but he suddenly had the urge to find it. He quickly ran into Francis's room, standing on his tippy toes to open the door and push it into the room and wondered in. He looked around the room a bit, he had never seen it so messy before. He wondered in toward the bookcase that laid in front of his father's bed, then tried his best to open the heavy case. He looked into the container and down at what he was looking for; his uniform. He could see it in a plastic bag the hospital or police probably gave to him, Francis probably felt like he needed to keep it. He could see the blood that had soaked the blank white shirt he used to wear, though the crimson color had completely faded to a disgusting brown. His face was blank as he reached in and picked up the bag, unsparing it and taking the bloodied shirt out. He gulped a bit and put the bag and pants back into the case, then stepped away. He moved his finger across the bloodied stain, he felt like he needed to cry but he wouldn't do that, not now. He folded it up as much as he could to the point where it could actually fit in the pocket of the inside of his coat. He quickly ran back to the door once he heard his father calling him. _

"_I will remind each of you that this is a young child we are dealing with, a child who had gone through a terrible tragedy that should of never happened." He could hear the announcer say inside the meeting room. "You will stay calm, you will not flash your cameras unless you are allowed to, there will be no overwhelming questions and that means if he can't or don't want to answer a question, you will not pressure him. If you all do not obey these rules, you will be taken out of this room and anything obtained today will be taken. Understand?" Matthew peeked out of the crack of the door into the room where a little more than a dozen newscasters sat. He felt uneasy and nervous, tightening his grip onto his bear and taking a deep breath. Those cameras, he could see them… he hated them so much… _

_Slowly, holding onto Francis's hand, he came out into the room. He felt small compared to everyone, he was the only child there and he simply didn't know how to act. Francis sat him down on the seat facing the crowd, then sat closely next to him. He looked as the announcer started again, "We will begin, please raise your hands and do not start chaos." One by one hands quickly went up but it continued to stay silent as Matthew's eyes gazed each of them. He slowly lifted his hand up and pointed to one of the ladies. _

"_How did you feel during your experience?" She asked. _

"_Scared." Matthew simply said. He wanted to change the subject quickly, he quickly pointed to another woman. _

"_Where did you hide?"_

"_Under the tables." His voice stayed low as they barely heard a word he said. He quickly pointed to a man. _

"_Did the bad man say anything to you?"_

"_Yeah, we were gonna be punished." Matthew said simply. The eyes of some of the casters seemed to quickly fill with sorrow, some even looked away or put their hands down as he pointed to another person. _

"_Did the teacher say anything to you when the man came in?" _

_Mathew gulped a bit, he could re-imagine the teacher falling into the wall, her head covered in blood. "She didn't have a chance." He said and pointed to another man. _

"_What were you doing when the man came in?" _

_Matthew drew to a blank. "Counting…" his voice dropped and he gulped. He suddenly froze, three, two, one, he could remember counting backwards, simply to prove a point… but the door broke down, he came in, and everything changed… it was just a coincidence… right? "Did I do it?…" he whispered to himself. Francis looked over at him as his eyes widened. "P-Papa… did I do it?… I am why he came in?… I-I… am I why he came in?… It's my fault?…" he couldn't get the thoughts out of his head, maybe if he hadn't counted the man would of never came in. Maybe this, maybe that, he couldn't take the thoughts. He couldn't breathe, he panicked. "It's my fault! ?" He cried. _

_The newscasters reacted like animals. They quickly raised up and pinned questions onto him, they overwhelmed him, their voices echoed in his head as he slowly lost control of everything he once had. He didn't understand, he couldn't understand, he panicked, he couldn't breathe, he cried, his eyes went from one person to another as fast as they could. He reached into his pocket and grabbed onto the folded shirt. His hand shook as he pulled the bloodied shirt out and threw it toward the newscaster, the shirt unfolding in the air and flying out in front of them. They all froze, it all went silent. No one said a word, only their eyes stayed on Matthew._

I guess that was when I realized… nothing would ever be the same… I realized there was no such thing as fairytales like my father or teacher would talk about… there were no knights in shinning armor or heroes, the only heroes would be like the ones who saved me or Al… The world was a horrible place, people did horrible things… and everyone… the most innocent people would die…

_Cameras went off again, that damn flashing filled the room. Francis quickly grabbed onto Matthew and tried hiding him from the others as they got him out of the room, though he was blank by now, completely emotionless and numb… _

I had no… I didn't know what to think anymore… I still don't…

"_**You just told that story to scare Peter." Matthew sat in the corner of the room reading his book as the other three boys stayed on Alfred's bed in a circle. "That story isn't true, there's no such thing as monsters." **_

"_**But he's a person!" Peter held onto his pillow tighter. **_

"_**Whether he's a person or a monster, it's just a story." Matthew had said. "There's no such thing as monsters." **_

Yeah, there are no such things as monsters, not the one's in legends. That's what I always thought since that day. The monsters were the demons, the bad guys, the ones who would take away life from those who barely had a chance to live, those who only lived to make others suffered… they were the monsters… the murderers… they were monsters…

_**"Your sisters are gone. Your three friends are gone. This house is empty and you will never leave it." Roma smiled as the windows slammed and locked shut, the shutters closing on them. Nails flew in out of no where and flung into the window, nailing it shut. Ivan panted as he looked, Roma placing the chest down on his seat and getting onto his knees next to Ivan. "I took your heart. It's no longer beating in your body but in that chest. You'll never die because of that. You'll be stuck here, alone, forever."**_

_**"W-Why?… why did you…"**_

_**"It keeps me young. I'm over 600 years old, Ivan. Every spell I cast that takes lives keeps me young. This was my chance to become immortal." Roma smiled. "Thank you~ my first spell with removing someone's entire life makes me feel so alive!~" Ivan attempted to grab onto him but his hand fell to the ground as Roma stood up. A tear seemed to slid down Ivan's face as he dropped back to the floor.**_

_**"Let me die…"**_

The monsters attacked those who didn't deserve it, who did nothing at all… Ivan wasn't a monster… He wasn't the demon or bad guy… what did he ever do?…

_**"I-It's okay," Ivan breathed heavily. "I-I don't want you getting hurt anymore."**_

_**"Yeah! ? L-Look at you!"**_

_**"I'm fine, this is nothing." Ivan tried his best to stand up straight and look at the stranger. "Neither of them have anything to do with why you're here, don't hurt either of them anymore." Ivan knew, he knew what was happening; the ending of the story. Alfred gulped a bit as Matthew only looked in worry at Ivan. Ivan only smiled and reached his bloodied hand up to Matthew's cheek. "Don't worry, it'll be fine… I want you to take your friend and walk out that door, understand?"**_

_**"Bu-"**_

_**"Go. Now. Both of you." He let his hand drop away from Matthew and backed up against the wall, he was actually falling back but he couldn't look any weaker right now. "Go ahead. Get out." Matthew teared a bit but didn't let it show, he hurried over to Alfred and grabbed his arm.**_

_**"C-Come on Alfred," He said with a shaky voice. "L-Let's go." He pulled Alfred's arm with his only good arm and pulled him toward the door. Alfred stood in more of a shock than anything, but Matthew pulling him seemed to snap him out of it. Matthew looked back at Ivan as Ivan only gave a gentle smile and a nod… Matthew pulled Alfred out and tried to get away from the house.**_

Why did he have to die! ? I don't… I don't understand… I don't understand anything anymore… I should of stayed… I should of stayed with him… he protected me and I couldn't do anything back could I?… I'm always protected… I can't protect anything…

"_**I'll kill all of them! Each of them! All of you! All of your brats who lived!" that man had once said… that was the day they injected him, that was the day the man who took so many lives was killed. For days though, Matthew couldn't get over that one sentence. He was afraid, he was terrified… he didn't know how to react anymore… **_

"_**I'm gonna protect you Mattie," Little Alfred grabbed onto his hand. "I promise! I'll protect you no matter what!" **_

"_**A-Al…" Matthew had teared up. **_

"_**I promise… we got through this together and I won't be leaving you again… I'll protect you no matter what." He had smiled. **_

Why didn't he just….

_**"M-Mattie…" Alfred smiled a bit. "Y-You're alive… You're alive!"**_

_**"Alfred… no… don't hurt him."**_

_**"Don't hurt him! ? He took you away into this house! What did he do to you! ? Huh! ? Are you hurt! ?"**_

_**"I didn't hurt h-"**_

_**"Shut up monster!" Alfred yelled before Ivan could even finish his sentence and pointed the gun back up at him. "Don't you say another damn word!"**_

_**"Alfred no!" Matthew quickly jumped in front of Ivan. "Please you don't understand Alfred!"**_

_**"I don't understand? I don't understand! ? He took you away into this house! He kidnapped you Mattie!" Alfred swung the gun around. "I thought I was going to lose you… I couldn't lose you again…" Ivan looked up at the two, again?… "He took you from me… from your dad… from all of us… and he'll pay!" Matthew put his arms up and protected Ivan the best he could, standing in front of the aim of the weapon.**_

Damn it… everything is gone… Alfred even lost his mind… and I never wanted to see that again, he was one those kids that couldn't speak after the shooting, he lost his mind several times before and it was because of me that he lost it again…. But… he's okay… he's okay right?… I can't….

_**"Why are you afraid to die?" Ivan said, Matthew looked at him confused. "Why? You've never experienced it before so why?"**_

_**"I-I…"**_

_**"What reason do you have to be afraid?" **_**I could remember death…I have a reason… what's yours?… **_**"Are you afraid that you'll never see your family or friends again? You'll never see any future? Or is it religious? Do you think that there's heaven or hell that you'll go to? Or that this will be it?" Ivan began to smile a bit, he began to like this talk on death. "Or do you just think it would be painful?"**_

_**"Shut up…" Matthew's voice was shaky. He had looked down as tears began to fill his eyes, he was terrified but he couldn't be sure why. "Please shut up…" Ivan lost his smile and turned around.**_

So is this my reason?… I'm afraid to die?… I… I don't want to die again… that's why… I couldn't understand it back then… I couldn't remember… when that bullet hit me again everything came back though… I just…

_I want Ivan…. I understand everything know…I think I do… I don't…I'm losing my mind again…. _

Several weeks later…

"On the bright side, at least their gone now!" Alfred poked Matthew's arm as they walked out of the school building. "So what if the professors were asking about it?"

"Ow, my arm, it still hurts." Matthew rubbed his arm a bit then looked over at Alfred. "And it's over now so they shouldn't be asking." Matthew got a better grip on his notebook and stopped at the end of the sidewalk, waiting for cars to slow to the stop. "Whatever, I'm over it eh?"

"That's the spirit!" Alfred gave a thumbs up toward the boy. "Are you coming out for sushi with me and Kiku?"

"Na, I got something to do…" Matthew softly smiled. "I'll see you back at the dorms okay?"

"Oh? What?"

"I'm meeting someone, that's all."

"Who?"

"A friend Al, now bye-bye~" Matthew took a step to cross the road once the light turned for him, but Alfred grabbed onto his sleeve.

"Hey Mattie," Alfred pulled him back a bit. "You're okay… right?"

Matthew looked at him with a blank face but then smiled. "I'm fine now, don't worry." He waved a bit toward his friend and quickly ran toward the other side of the street. He took out the letter that was handed to him so long ago and held it tightly in his hand. He walked calmly, there was no reason to rush, but he was excided. He wondered down the street until he reached an ally, though it was made into a garden by the residents of the buildings around it. Matthew opened the gate to the beautiful garden, flowers seemed to grow everywhere even up the walls. The flowers there were most of was sunflowers though. Matthew looked around a bit but didn't see who he was looking for, but the voice quickly got him to turn around a smile.

"Over here Matvey." The voice called.


	8. Author Note

Hello! Writer here :D

So by now you've noticed I haven't updated in a while. I've been stuck. (Unless there is a part two to this and you're just in the middle, read below!)

I've been trying to figure out whether to continue this story or leave it here with a mystery and not drag it out... and I was going to write a second part, but I decided it could ruin the previous part of the story and that's just not good D:

Unless, anyone wants a part two? In which case the theme of it would be that there was a second part of the curse :O I will put it up if I get enough people to want that, though I don't think I'll do too well with making a second part after this. It's suppose to end with the cliffhanger. Who's voice calls Matthew? Is Ivan alive? What's gonna happen to Matthew? Why was his memory gone and what part did the shooting play in this story? What happened! ?

Well, you're not suppose to know XD Though I can do a second part separate from this story, if my followers want me to and only if they want me to.

Let me explain the characters cause I got some questions about them, I'll put this up!

Characters list:

Ivan (Russia) main character obviously, cursed and locked away as a "monster". Ends up actually falling in love with Matthew and wants to protect him.

Matthew "Matvey" (Canada) other main character obviously, his entire childhood is forgotten and he's the one to break Ivan's curse. Also terrified by the flashing of cameras and loud noises Also angry about people calling Ivan a monster.

Alfred (America) Matthew's brother-like friend who hates Ivan for kidnapping him, loses sanity when he fears Matthew is dead

Peter (Sealand) Alfred's little brother who doesn't do anything

Kiku (Japan) Just a random friend

Arthur (England/Britain) Alfred's father, houses Matthew

Francis (France) Matthew's father, very overprotective

Katyusha (Ukraine) Ivan's older sister, brings in stranger

Natalia (Belarus) Ivan's younger sister, manipulated into fighting with Ivan and starting the curse (not by choice)

Toris, Eduard, Raivis (Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia) Ivan's servants and friends who came with his family from Russia, killed to help Roma's curse

"Roma" (Romania, he has no "real" name so i called him Roma for short) The "vampire" that curses Ivan and kills the others so he can live longer.

"Bul" (Bulgaria) Hunted down Ivan for killing Roma, blows house up with himself in it to kill Ivan.

Antonio and Gilbert (Spain and Prussia) Francis' close friends who Matthew calls uncles

Gunman (Turkey, sorry Turkey T.T) the gunman obviously

Li and small blonde girl who cries (Hong Kong and Liechtenstein) killed by gunman in school

Kumajirou (excuse me, kuma is a character too XD) Matthew's stuff bear he received as a child after his trauma.

Okay so that's the character list! :D if there's a part two, more would be added.

So I'll leave it with this, would you like to know what happened? Who's voice calls Matthew? What's going to happen next? Is the curse /really/ broken? It all depends if anyone would want more, I'll be willing to write it if I get people to review that they want more. If not, cliffhanger it is. I'm giving a choice here, because meh I can XD


	9. (Part Two) Chapter 8

Part Two: One more Miracle

Chapter One

_This is Part Two of the RusCan Monster's Heart. It's a sequel and will be based more off of the original as well. I wanted to leave it at the cliffhanger, but I decided to make a second part with a new part of the curse. It may not be as good as the first part and I apologize for that if that's the case. I believe it should be pretty accurate to the first part though._

_Enjoy, review, thank you :3_

OOOOO

_**"Matthew! Matthew wake up!"**_

_**"Don't die!"**_

_**"Don't leave me!"**_

_**"Matthew!"**_

ooOoo

_"The whole house will blow up with us inside, I know." Bul said. "That's the plan… my life has been wasted to find you… I want to make sure you're dead… and I want to see Roma again…" His grip on the lighter tightened. "You and me will die together…"_

_"If you're willing to die… then so be it…" Ivan tried lifting himself up again but he simply couldn't, he fell back onto the bloody ground. "I-I have nothing to live for…" He smiled a bit. "Any life that I have lived took place within the last few days…" He could remember Matthew, the boy he had carried in and tried so hard to keep alive. The boy he had saved and took care of, who had actually cared for him, who loved him enough to break the damn spell they were under… the one that he had fallen in love with. "I've had enough… I'm ready to die… so I can see my sisters and my parents…"_

_Bul looked down at Ivan, there was nothing left now. He closed his eyes and flicked the lighter on. Within seconds, one small flame had set everything burning, flames and smoke filled the room within a minute, working it's way down to the basement where gas was used as their power source. Ivan closed his eyes, he knew it was over… it was the end of his story. He smiled though, even in the mist of the heat a tear managed to roll down his cheek. He had felt human again, he didn't care anymore. The pain was gone, soon he would be free… the story was over…right?_

_"Even when you finally die, the curse will never be lifted off of you," Bul yelled. "Your next life will suffer, and the next, again and again always. The curse will never disappear." Bul watched as the fire engulfed the both of them. "It will never end! It will always be there Ivan!"_

OoOoo

_One more miracle... just for me..._

Matthew's foot tapped against the floor as he concentrated hard on his test, he knew he had to be half way done with it by now. He hated midterms, they made him edgy but he was prepared- he had this one! Unlike his dear friend who struggled with the first half of the test just a few seats away. He looked over toward Alfred to see him struggling once again, he smiled a bit toward Matthew and winked, then went back to his test. Matthew calculated the next answer, punching it into his calculator and trying to find the answer that fit.

Since it was midterms, the administrator of the college often walked around the hallways, peeking into each class to see if anyone was cheating or such. He walked past the first door of the room, peeking in slightly, then walked to the next peeking in again through the glass opening of the door. Matthew looked up toward the door that crept open; his foot stayed still now. He watched as the man stepped in and lifted something out of his pocket. Matthew's eyes widened in terror as the man lifted the gun up toward Matthew, his blank eyes piercing through him, and his smile widening with pleasure.

Matthew screamed.

The administration guy quickly came in as the professor quickly went to Matthew to try to calm him down as he grabbed onto his head and continued screaming as the students backed away a bit, completely broken from their concentration of their tests. The professor grabbed onto Matthew's shoulder as his screaming stopped and turned into fearful panting. "Do you need to go to the nurse again?" She asked. "Come on, let's go to the nurse Matthew." She helped him up from his seat as he violently shook, the class staring at him and his freak out once again. Alfred frowned as the professor led him out of the class with the administrator. "Return to your tests!"

_It hurts... it scares me... why won't... it all stop?..._

_Make it stop..._

_It hurts too much..._

_Ivan... help me..._

"Are you feeling better?" The nurse looked over him and removed the hot cloth from over his eyes as Matthew opened his eyes, squinting at the light above him. "How do you feel?"

"Better," Matthew sat up a bit.

"Does your head hurt still?"

"No,"

"Do you feel dizzy or nauseous?"

"No,"

"Good. Those pills helped then," the nurse took the cloth and places it into the sink of the small office. "You should rest for another few minutes and then ill let you go."

"What about my test?..." Matthew rubbed his temples a bit.

"You'll have to take it up with administration."

"R-right..." Matthew sat up off the cot and stretched a bit. "Until then I should just... Go home?"

"That's right, get some rest. You can talk to them in the morning."

"Thank you ma'am," he smiled softly toward the nurse then left out the door into the hallway.

_It still hurts..._

He walked out the front door to the beating sunshine upon him, which made him cover his eyes at first but he got over it and wondered down the stairs of the campus. He checked his phone once again to see multiple texts of "are you okay?" Or "Mattie call me," or "Mat do you need any help?" Plus multiple phone calls, many of them from Alfred and several students in his class. He deleted them all without opening any of them, then threw his phone back into his pants pocket. He wondered his way back to the dorms and quickly laid down on the bed, ignoring the calls of his roommate, he just wanted Alfred to shut up for once.

He plopped on his bed, curling up and covering his head with the pillow as Alfred called him still and tried to talk to him. Eventually, he stopped. Matthew closed his eyes and tried resting once again but he couldn't get the images out of his head, the sounds echoed. The gunman, the blood, the sounds of screaming, then the fire, the crying, the sounds of yelling once again... The sound of a pounding _heart beating_. It frightened him, that sound never left his head once the room was silent. He pounded and pounded, getting louder as Matthew panicked or became frightened. His breathing often quickened, his own heart pounded just as fast as the one in his head... But they _weren't the same..._

His heart _ached_... He felt pain reoccurring through his body, it climbed up his body and wouldn't ever go away... He hated the silence.

Only the pills the doctors had given him made the pains and nightmares go away, he craved them instead of the horrible pain...

Almost two years later and it all still _kills_ him...

"Mattie!" Alfred's voice called him as he slowly opened his eyes to the sunshine coming through the window, hitting the top of his head. "Mattie wake up, class is in an hour." Morning already?... He reached for his glasses he had thrown off to the side last night, then slipped them on as he sat up in the bed. He rubbed his eyes under them then fixed his glasses to look at Alfred "That kid across the hall brought us some bagels."

"You mean Soo?" Matthew mumbled.

"Yeah the Im guy."

"His name is Im Yong Soo, Alfred. Don't start mocking him again and calling him "that kid" okay?"

"Well maybe if he knew proper English-"

"He does, you're just an asshole."

"Ouch! Harsh!" Alfred threw the bag of food at the boy then grabbed his captain America sweatshirt he wore so often. "I'll meet you at class."

"I have to go to administration about my test..." Matthew looked through the bag.

"I'll see you later anyway," Alfred waved as walked out, passing the Korean student who had brought them breakfast on the way out.

Matthew sighed and sat there for a moment, then took a bite of the blueberry bagel he found at the bottom of the bag. He took a few bites then looked over to the fluffy stuffed bear he had at the corner of the bed. He reached for it and put it onto his lap as he put the bagel back into the bag and took a look at the bear. "Even you aren't helping with these nightmares," he glided his finger through the bears fluffy face. "Huh, kuma?..." He took a deep breath and let it out, closing his eyes and simply breathing slowly and deeply for a moment.

_The same sound came back..._

_The aching heart came back..._

He grabbed onto his chest and tried breathing normally once again but it wouldn't work. He panted again, heavy and hard. His body shook a bit. He held onto his chest still as he began sweating. He wanted to scream, he opened his mouth to scream but not a single sound came out of his mouth. He gasped then fell back as the pounding stopped and he could finally breath again. He panted heavily again as he laid down still looking up at the ceiling.

_It hurts..._

_Make it stop..._

_Take the pain away..._

_**... Help me ...**_

ooOoo

"Have the scars healed?" Matthew looked across the diner table toward the older Russian. Ivan took a sip of the water and then looked back toward Matthew.

"Partly..." He pulled his scarf up a bit. "Scars last forever da?"

"Yeah," Matthew drank his coffee, "But some do heal enough."

"My arm healed, mostly. My shoulder still hits a bit." He rolled his shoulder around. "Some things won't though, which I'm fine with..." He looked toward Matthew "But you,"

"What about me?"

"Are the nightmares still hurting you?..." Ivan questioned, Matthew almost immediately paused and placed the cup down, staring down for a moment. "Matthew?"

"It's not going to stop..." Matthew whispered. "I can't concentrate in school, I can't talk to Alfred or my father... I can't live here... People still know and they still- attack me! With their words..." He wanted to cry again "The noises are sill echoing and the images are still there..." Ivan looked at him motionless then looked away, thinking for a moment. "I can't stop it... I want to get away from it..."

_"I can take you away..." _

"What do you mean…?"


End file.
